Strongest War Emperor

”Brother, you can start by channeling a small amount of Spiritual Power into your fist to feel the strength that comes from combining it with your cultivation technique.”

Li Su, who was behind him, knew the Chaos Divine Body was ridiculously powerful, but she was still exceptionally surprised and pleased to see this change in Shen Lang.

”Right.”

Shen Lang did as she said and walked over to a massive, rugged boulder nearly ten meters tall at the edge of the canyon.

Focusing his mind, a warm current rose from Shen Lang’s Pill Sea and surged into his right arm. His arm started to tingle and swell. The power in his fist was already shockingly strong, but once the Spiritual Power merged with it, the force in his fist instantly skyrocketed!

”Hah!”

With a sharp cry, Shen Lang threw a punch through the air toward the boulder!

A violent Fist Gang, visible to the naked eye, flashed into existence and slammed into the massive green boulder two meters away.

A strange series of muffled pops echoed out.

The massive boulder immediately made a strange sound, then crumbled with a ROAR, dissolving into a cloud of dust that scattered in the wind!

The ten-meter-tall green boulder vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye!

’I only used three-tenths of my power, yet it has the force to shake mountains...’

Even with the experience of a War Emperor, Shen Lang was still utterly shocked.

The next moment, Shen Lang casually pushed off the ground and leaped an incredible fifty feet into the air!

BOOM!

As Shen Lang landed with a thunderous crash, a loud CRACK echoed out. The stone ground in a radius of several dozen meters splintered, with terrifying cracks spreading out from him as the center. Dust and smoke billowed everywhere!

Just then, Li Su spoke again, ”Brother, your blood contains an indescribably ferocious power. This power isn’t just for attacking; it can be used for defense too. Try locking your Divine Thought onto your blood and using your will to control that power. See if you can make it cover your entire body.”

Shen Lang nodded and did as Li Su instructed.

The next second, countless glossy, jet-black scales suddenly emerged, covering his entire body except for his face!

”What the hell?!”

Shen Lang jumped in fright and quickly withdrew the power.

”Is... is this the power of the Chaos Divine Body? Does this mean I’ve turned into a monster?” Shen Lang said, a bitter taste in his mouth.

Li Su smiled, shook her head, and walked out from the pavilion. ”This isn’t the power of the Chaos Divine Body. The Chaos Divine Body’s power hasn’t truly been awakened yet. The tiny bit you can use right now is practically nothing. The power you’re currently accessing is the Celestial Demon Power, which was activated by my Essence Blood.”

”The Celestial Demon Body is an extraordinary physique, even in the Upper Realm. Both the Celestial Crocodile Race and the Demon Dragon Clan possess it, and as it happens, so do I. Since you absorbed my Essence Blood, Brother, you have it too. For now, this Celestial Demon Power is actually stronger than the newly awakened Chaos Divine Body inside you. As you continue to grow and the Chaos Divine Body awakens further, its power will eventually surpass that of the Celestial Demon. At that point, it will completely devour and fuse with the Celestial Demon Power, and these scales will ultimately disappear.”

”By then, Brother, you won’t even need to actively draw out the power. The defensive barrier formed by the energy naturally circulating around you will far surpass the current strength of the Celestial Demon Body. Your physical body will be as tough as a Divine Artifact—an Undying Golden Body, dominating the Ten Thousand Realms! With a swing of your fists and feet, you’ll shatter stars!”

Hearing Li Su’s words, Shen Lang summoned the scales again.

In the dark of night, illuminated by the Moonlight Stones, Shen Lang was completely covered in scales. Each scale shimmered with a demonic light, with strange colors flowing across them from time to time. Here in this small canyon, the sight created an intense feeling of unreality for anyone watching.

Shen Lang flicked his wrist, took out the Celestial Water Blade, and slashed down on the scales on his left wrist.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as the sound of metal striking metal rang out. The scales remained glossy and black, without even a single scratch.

’It can even block a Profound Artifact. This is incredible!’ Shen Lang was amazed.

...

「One day later, at noon.」

On a cliff edge above the Halan Canyon in the Tala Prairie.

Xu Daolin, Long Fong, and Yun Qing, along with the Netherworld Wolf King, were standing at the edge of a towering, ancient tree, looking down.

Below them, the otherwise picturesque Halan Valley was now filled with the glint of sabers and swords. Enraged shouts mingled with the sounds of various Spiritual Artifacts, and with the constant flashing of Divine Radiance from spells, it was clear a massive, chaotic battle was unfolding in the valley.

”When it comes to scheming, Junior Brother Xu is truly far superior to us. With just one move, you’ve managed to make Evil Wind Valley and the Holy Light Sect, two Sects that were originally close, fight to the death. I am truly impressed,” Yun Qing said with a sigh of admiration.

Even the cold-faced Long Fong nodded and said, ”Indeed. Yi Hongchen is the Young Master of Evil Wind Valley. Now that he’s been lured into the valley by the people from the Holy Light Sect and trapped, the relationship between the two Sects will rapidly deteriorate. We can use this opportunity to build a good relationship with the Holy Light Sect and prepare to establish our own Profound Iron Level Influence. So, what’s our next move?”

As he spoke, he had already turned to look at Xu Daolin.

Xu Daolin no longer had his previous high-spirited demeanor. His face was pale, and he was coughing constantly, looking incredibly weak.

It seemed he still hadn’t recovered from the severe injury Shen Lang had inflicted on him with a single palm strike.

He coughed violently a couple of times before speaking, breathing heavily. ”The next step is simple. There aren’t many people from Evil Wind Valley, and they were completely unprepared. From the looks of it, they won’t last another two hours. After the people from the Holy Light Sect have slaughtered everyone from Evil Wind Valley, you two Senior Brothers and the Wolf King will make your move and kill everyone from the Holy Light Sect.”

”Kill all of them?” Yun Qing asked, puzzled. ”If we kill everyone, who will deliver the message to the two Sects? Without a witness, I’m afraid neither Sect will believe what happened.”

Xu Daolin sneered. ”We don’t need a witness. Yi Hongchen is the Young Master of Evil Wind Valley. The Holy Light Sect will eventually focus all their efforts on him. After they kill him, all we have to do is send his body to Evil Wind Valley. It will be obvious what kind of magic killed him. The old geezers at Evil Wind Valley will naturally be able to tell.”

”Brilliant! Junior Brother, you truly are brilliant!” Yun Qing said, giving a shameless thumbs-up.

Xu Daolin shot him a cool glance and continued, ”When the time comes, collect the bodies of the Holy Light Sect members and their Spiritual Artifacts. Place them together with those from Evil Wind Valley and have someone secretly deliver them all. Then, send a message to Evil Wind Valley saying that the Holy Light Sect coveted the treasures held by Evil Wind Valley’s Young Master and tried to ambush them, but in the end...”

”In the end, they wiped each other out?” Yun Qing stammered.

”The wisdom of mortals...” Xu Daolin scoffed. ”At the last moment, a disciple of the Shen Family, Shen Lang, who was lying in ambush, suddenly appeared and killed everyone after they had mutually wounded each other.”

Long Fong, who had been silent, felt his eyes twitch. A chilling sensation crept over him.

’This kid is truly sinister. No wonder Master has been thinking more and more highly of him lately. I can’t believe he won’t even let the dead Shen Lang rest in peace! A plan to kill with a borrowed knife, and he’s using the opportunity to wipe the Shen Family from Celestial Phoenix City as well. He’s absolutely ruthless... I’ll have to be careful around him from now on.’

Meanwhile, Yun Qing clapped his hands and laughed heartily. ”As expected of the disciple Master favors most! This is killing three birds with one stone! Amazing! The Shen Family is just a tiny little clan. To a Profound Iron Level Influence, they’re no different from ants that can be crushed with a single word. Besides, Shen Lang is dead, so there’s no proof. Even if Evil Wind Valley has no evidence that he did it, they won’t let the Shen Family off the hook.”

Long Fong nodded. ”Mm, let’s do it that way.”

Xu Daolin glanced down below and smiled faintly. ”The time is about right. The people from Evil Wind Valley have been trapped in the Chaotic Stone Array at the center of the valley. They won’t hold out for much longer. My injuries haven’t healed, so I’ll be leaving first. I’ll leave everything to you two Senior Brothers and the Wolf King.”

Long Fong was about to nod when a strange expression crossed his face. ”Junior Brother, Big Grey says we shouldn’t interfere. It wants to handle this alone.”

”Hmm?” Xu Daolin stopped in his tracks and looked at the Netherworld Wolf King with some surprise.

The Netherworld Wolf King nodded at Xu Daolin, its eyes holding an unquestionable look.

”Big Grey says it encountered Shen Lang twice before and the fights were incredibly frustrating. There’s a pent-up rage in its chest that it can’t quell, and it wants to devour this group of people to vent its anger,” Long Fong added with a frown.

Among Yuwen Huaji’s disciples, only Long Fong could communicate normally with the Netherworld Wolf King.

Xu Daolin’s expression became respectful. ”Since the Wolf King has decided, this junior naturally wouldn’t dare to go against its wishes. Let’s do as it says. We’ll leave.”

This person’s intellect was extraordinary, and he was as cunning as a fox. He was truly a remarkable figure.

Long Fong and the others treated the Netherworld Wolf King as their master’s tamed pet, casually calling it ”Big Grey.” Xu Daolin, however, always addressed it as ”Wolf King.” Therefore, even though he was the newest disciple, his relationship with the Netherworld Wolf King was actually the best.

Now that the Netherworld Wolf King had made its stance clear, he was happy to go along with it.

Even if all the people below attacked together, they would be no match for the Netherworld Wolf King. They wouldn’t even have a chance to escape, so he wasn’t worried at all.

A pair of light wings unfurled from behind each of the three. They soared into the sky and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

The Netherworld Wolf King’s originally docile and restrained gaze suddenly transformed completely. Its eyes began to roil with malevolence; it became cruel and merciless. A terrifying, overwhelming Evil Qi erupted from it.

It all came and went in a flash. In the blink of an eye, the Netherworld Wolf King returned to its previous state, watching the direction Xu Daolin and the others had left with a harmless expression. It was a long while before it looked away.

Then, the Netherworld Wolf King suddenly turned its head and looked up into the empty space to its right. Its lupine eyes, gleaming with a ghostly light, suddenly revealed a human-like smile.

The next moment, the Netherworld Wolf King spun around and shot off, charging toward the center of the Tala Prairie. It vanished without a trace in no time.

A gentle breeze rustled through the tall grass, making the prairie ripple like the ocean.

Not thirty seconds after the Netherworld Wolf King left, at the exact spot in the empty air it had been looking at, a Ghost-faced Person with his arms crossed over his chest and a single saber on his back materialized.

Behind him, wisps of black mist continuously rose from a pair of dark, bizarre wings. Even under the bright sun, they emanated an indescribable chill.

It was none other than Shen Lang, returned from the Sorrow Swamp!

’Boss, there’s something strange about that Netherworld Wolf King. A Netherworld Wolf King at the Spirit Martial Realm Ninth Heaven is about on par with your previous strength. Even before you broke through to the Xuanwu Realm, there’s no way it could have seen through your Concealing Technique! But just now, it seemed like it knew we were here. And that last look... it felt like a warning! It sent a chill down my spine, like I was facing not a Netherworld Wolf King, but an Ancient Fierce Beast... This doesn’t make any sense!’

”I know,” Shen Lang said calmly, his gaze turning toward the deep valley below.

By now, the battle below had reached a fever pitch...