Strongest War Emperor

In front of so many people from Celestial Phoenix City, the Imperial Dragon Sect, which had always prided itself on being part of the Righteous Dao, had to see its banner of justice through to the end!

This was especially true when the matter involved a disciple of the Imperial Dragon Sect.

Although Master Lin was wary of Yuwen Huaji, the circumstances forced him to handle this matter impartially.

Otherwise, if word got out, the reputation of the Imperial Dragon Sect would suffer.

’Even if I can’t be completely fair, I at least have to put on a show and go through the motions... Hmph. The rumors said Yuwen Huaji found a disciple with astonishing luck and unparalleled intelligence, which made us all quite jealous. But now, it seems this Xu Daolin is nothing but a useless idiot! What bullshit luck. If his luck was really so great, would he have been so thoroughly humiliated by this Shen Lang? I suspect there’s a problem with that Magical Artifact in Yuwen Huaji’s possession... To think this scoundrel would dare spout such baseless, nonsensical words right to my face. How infuriating!’

A look of disgust appeared in Master Lin’s eyes as he looked at Xu Daolin.

Xu Daolin’s mouth twitched, and he gritted his teeth. ”The words of Yan Congyun and the other two cannot be trusted! They were originally invited by my Xu Family as reinforcements. Their sudden betrayal must be the result of coercion! I implore you, Master, to inspect their bodies to see if they’ve been poisoned or placed under a Restriction! And to verify whether they are lying! Otherwise, my Xu Family will not accept this outcome!”

Shen Lang shot Xu Daolin a cold look, then broke into a smile. ”I think Xu Daolin has a point.”

Hearing this, Yan Congyun and the other two almost fainted on the spot.

’That bastard actually agreed with Xu Daolin? He’s letting Master Lin inspect our bodies!’

’Damn it, won’t this inspection expose everything? This kid seemed so formidable before, how can he be dumber than me?’

’No, we just have to insist we aren’t lying... Fucking hell, we weren’t lying in the first place! Shen Lang really did kill the Demon Martial Artists! Xu Daolin, you son of a bitch, I’m not done with you!’

Yan Congyun and the other two were so furious they could grind their teeth to dust. They glanced at Shen Lang with a bitter taste in their mouths, only to see him beaming at them.

’Holy shit, you’re still smiling? Master Lin is no ordinary person! If he finds out you poisoned us, all four of us are done for!’

’It’s over, it’s over! That fucking Xu Daolin is ruthless, I can’t believe he’s stubbornly insisting we were coerced... The key thing is, we really *were* coerced by Shen Lang! What do we do now?’

’This trip to Celestial Phoenix City has been a total disaster. What are we going to do if Master Lin discovers the Corpse Bone Insect Pills in our bodies...’

But Shen Lang wasn’t the least bit anxious or worried. Instead, he continued smiling. ”This Senior can indeed perform an inspection. See if there is anything unusual about Yan Congyun and the others, or if they were coerced by me. Additionally, Senior can go to the South City Ruins personally and take a look at the battle scene. Then you will know whether or not I was the one who killed those Demon Martial Artists.”

While Yan Congyun and his companions wore strange expressions, Master Lin, upon hearing Shen Lang’s words, actually walked over to them.

The trio’s hearts went numb with fear, but seeing Shen Lang’s calm smile, they could only follow his lead and force a Mona Lisa-esque smile of their own. There was no other choice; they had to put on a brave front.

What else could they do?

’So what if he finds out we’re poisoned? The Demon Martial Artists were, in fact, killed by Shen Lang. That’s the most important point! Shen Lang just said it himself: as long as Master Lin goes to the South City Ruins to investigate and checks the Cultivation Techniques used, he can confirm Shen Lang was the one who did it. What the hell do I have to be afraid of!’

Thinking this, Yan Congyun’s expression eased considerably.

With the solemn feeling of heroes marching to their doom, never to return, Yan Congyun and the other two let Master Lin begin his inspection, their faces a mask of tragic bravery.

Xu Daolin and Long Fong watched intently, hoping Master Lin would actually find something.

It was their only hope now.

’According to their thinking, Yan Congyun and the others had just arrived in Celestial Phoenix City. It was absolutely impossible for them to know Shen Lang, who had never left the city.’

’For these three to suddenly switch sides, there was a ninety-nine percent chance they had been coerced by Shen Lang.’

’When they returned, the three of them had looked unwell. At the time, Xu Daolin had assumed they were injured from besieging the Demon Martial Artists.’

’Thinking back now, it was highly likely they had run into Shen Lang and been threatened by him...’

’If it were just a matter of martial coercion, even if Shen Lang was stronger than them, they could have reported the matter to Yuwen Huaji upon their return. They wouldn’t need to fear Shen Lang’s retaliation at all.’

’The only possibility was that Shen Lang had subdued them with force, then compelled them to take poison or bound them with a powerful Restriction, forcing them to cooperate and say these things!’

’There must be something wrong with these three! Master Lin is an expert in this field. If there’s a problem with them, it won’t escape his notice! As long as I can prove they weren’t speaking voluntarily, Shen Lang’s plot will fail! Even if he really did kill the Demon Martial Artists, I can at least crush his momentum! I won’t be so utterly defeated...’

At this thought, Xu Daolin grew excited once more.

However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Just as a smile appeared on Xu Daolin’s face, Master Lin said something that stunned him and the trio alike: ”There are no toxins in Yan Congyun and the others. They are in excellent physical condition, and their Cultivation even shows faint signs of an impending breakthrough. They haven’t been placed under any Restrictions, either. Everything is normal!”

”Hmph!” The faces of Yan Congyun and the others were filled with the tragic indignation of the falsely accused as they glared at Xu Daolin.

Then, Master Lin turned around and looked coldly at Xu Daolin. ”What else do you have to say?”

”How is that possible... It’s impossible! Master, you must have made a mistake...” Xu Daolin was completely flustered.

Master Lin was already quite displeased with Xu Daolin. Hearing him say, ”You must have made a mistake” in front of so many people, his face immediately fell.

”Are you... saying I made a mistake?”

A murderous intent flared in Master Lin’s eyes, and his astonishing Momentum instantly enveloped Xu Daolin.

”No... no...” Xu Daolin’s heart sank. He knew he had offended the man, but it was too late to take it back.

Meanwhile, Yan Congyun and the other two exchanged glances, not understanding what was happening. ’Could the Corpse Bone Insect Pill be so potent that even Master Lin couldn’t detect it?’

’Damn, that kid Shen Lang really is sinister. No wonder he wasn’t worried at all!’

’For a poison to be this potent... Thank goodness we insisted we weren’t lying. Thank goodness we stood firmly on his side. Otherwise...’

The trio wiped sweat from their brows and let out a long sigh of relief.

Just then, Shen Lang spoke up. ”I say, Xu Daolin, do you really think you can cover up the Xu Family’s collusion with Demon Martial Artists just by spouting all this nonsense to distract everyone?”

”What!”

Everyone present was once again shocked.

Wasn’t it Ye Xiao Zheng who colluded with the Demon Dao?

Besides, Xu Daolin was the first one to bring it up. How could Shen Lang now claim that the Xu Family was colluding with the Demon Dao?

”Shen Lang, you’re spouting vicious slander!” Xu Daolin looked crazed, having completely lost his composure.

A sharp glint flashed in Master Lin’s eyes. He looked at Shen Lang and said amiably, ”Young friend, what do you mean by that? Could you please elaborate?”

Shen Lang nodded. ”This senior just asked me to explain the whole story. In that case, I’ll start from the beginning. As for whether it’s true or false, you seniors can naturally verify it through the evidence and clues.”

He paused for a moment, then declared in a clear voice, ”Ye Xiao Zheng colluded with the Demon Dao, harming innocent people in Celestial Phoenix City, all to hunt a Nine Immortals Lingzhi with Demon Corpses! This is because the Nine Immortals Lingzhi was about to take human form and had developed rudimentary Spiritual Wisdom. The moment it senses the aura of a human or Demon Beast, it immediately flees, making it extremely difficult to harvest. It requires the use of Demon Corpses to be captured...”

”Wow, a Nine Immortals Lingzhi about to take human form! No wonder Ye Xiao Zheng dared to do such a thing! So that’s the reason!” the crowd exclaimed.

”How many people has that bastard harmed for a single Nine Immortals Lingzhi! The people who have mysteriously disappeared in Celestial Phoenix City over the years were probably refined into Demon Corpses!”

”No kidding! Think about that huge number of Demon Corpses that were destroyed at Black Wind Ridge a while ago—hundreds of them! They were probably all people from our Celestial Phoenix City! That monster!”

Shen Lang glanced at the crowd, which was on the verge of erupting, and continued, ”Three years ago, Xu Daolin’s father, Xu Jing, brought a message to my father, saying that Demon Corpses had been discovered in the Black Wind Ridge area. Afterward, my father led his men to investigate, but he was severely injured by that Demon Martial Artist. He only escaped with his life after being poisoned by corpse toxin and falling into the Phoenix River! He suspected the Demon Martial Artist was colluding with the City Lord’s Mansion, so for all these years, he has feigned illness. He didn’t dare seek treatment for the corpse toxin, fearing Ye Xiao Zheng would find out and endanger our family!”

”Heh, I’m sure everyone finds this strange. Everyone in Celestial Phoenix City knows that the Xu Family and the Shen Family have never gotten along. Why would Xu Daolin’s father, after discovering Demon Corpses, come tell his rival, the Shen Family, instead of someone else? He just wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill!”

In the Xu Family’s viewing stands, Clan Leader Xu Jing almost burst into tears. The message he had given Shen Haotian back then clearly stated that traces of the Shen Family had been found in Black Wind Ridge. When did he ever mention Demon Corpses?

’This kid is obviously spouting nonsense to frame me!’

’But back then, he really did intend to use the Demon Corpses to eliminate Shen Haotian, because that was Ye Xue’s wish...’

Xu Daolin’s plot to frame Shen Lang and the Shen Family had now been turned back on him and the Xu Family.

Shen Lang continued, ”My father has been gravely ill for several years, as everyone in Celestial Phoenix City knows. Everyone thought he was sick, but they didn’t know he wasn’t sick at all—he was severely injured! He was afflicted with corpse toxin! And because he feared the City Lord’s Mansion and was afraid of endangering our family, he kept it a secret this whole time. He even gave up on finding someone to detoxify the poison and heal his wounds, relying only on his own Qi Martial Realm Seventh Heaven cultivation to barely hold on!”

A murderous glint appeared in Shen Lang’s eyes as he said grimly, ”Don’t ask me for evidence. It’s been three years since Xu Daolin’s father delivered that message, and no evidence was left behind! However, regarding my father being poisoned, besides me, Senior Hua Zhong, the Dean of Tayun Academy, also learned of it when he came to treat my father. He is at my home right now. If you wish to verify this, you can go find him at any time. Today is the day I demand justice from the Ye Family and the Xu Family! Xu Daolin, at a time like this, what else do you have to say!”

”Shen Lang, you... you’re spouting slander! My father never did such a thing! What evidence do you have?” Xu Daolin staggered back a few steps. For a moment, he was at a complete loss for words, and even his retort felt weak and powerless.

Suddenly, a sinister voice rang out: ”I can prove it. The Xu Family has been colluding with that Demon Martial Artist all along! They did it for a share of the Nine Immortals Lingzhi! Besides myself, only Xu Daolin’s father, Xu Jing, has had contact with the Demon Martial Artist, Ji Chengwu! Now they’re pushing all the blame onto me to seize control of Celestial Phoenix City!”

”Ye Xiao Zheng!” Xu Daolin roared. ”Ye Xiao Zheng is framing me! Everyone, don’t believe a word he says!”

The one who had spoken was none other than the City Lord, Ye Xiao Zheng...