Strongest War Emperor

The person who had arrived was Sima Fenghen, the woman Shen Lang had argued with at the tavern.

She was the daughter of Sima Yan, the Dean of the Alchemy Institute at Tayun Academy.

Shen Lang cracked his neck, making a few popping sounds, and said nonchalantly, ”Tell them to wait. I’m going to take a shower first.”

”You...” Outside the door, Sima Fenghen was left speechless with anger.

She knew that the current Shen Lang had the right to speak like that, but hearing his words was still incredibly irritating.

’Hmph, so this guy is just another one of *those* people. It seems the rumors can’t be trusted after all. A young hero? A few days is all it took for him to become this arrogant!’

Sima Fenghen’s expression shifted. The look of anticipation in her eyes faded, replaced once again by a cold aloofness.

She let out a soft huff, crossed her arms, and leaned against the door, her face an icy mask.

...

Inside the Gravity Chamber, Shen Lang paid no more attention to Sima Fenghen and closed his eyes to inspect the condition of his body.

His bones had begun to shift from gold to a dark gold color, hardened to an unbelievable degree, rivaling Divine Weapons and Treasures.

His internal organs, having been refined, were now flawless and pure, without a single impurity.

His meridians had been widened and strengthened considerably. Spiritual Power flowed through them like a great, surging river, roaring and churning with torrential force.

His skin was lustrous and translucent, almost transparent, shimmering with a treasured radiance.

And within his countless cells, there were now twenty-one more Ten Divine Beast Particles than before.

Shen Lang clenched his left hand into a fist and slowly pushed it forward. With almost no effort, he could feel a strange energy emanating from his arm, causing the space before him to tremble slightly.

’If I weren’t worried about destroying the Gravity Chamber, I’d really throw a few punches to see just how powerful my physical body has become.’

With a single thought, his fist was instantly covered in fine, dense scales.

The jet-black scales seemed even more lustrous than before, reflecting his image like a mirror and creating a sense of unreality.

’Seven days in the Tenfold Gravity Chamber, stimulated by the Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique, and I only managed to form twenty-one new Ten Divine Beast Particles. That’s an average of just three a day. Even if I maintained this state for a whole year, I’d only add a little over a thousand particles. This pace is ridiculously slow... My Chaos Divine Body may have awakened, but making it grow is truly difficult.’

’At this rate, even if I maintained this condition, it might take several hundred years to see a qualitative change. It looks like I need to find the Essence Blood of the Ten Divine Beasts as soon as possible.’

’But... even though the speed is incredibly slow, just these twenty-one new particles have increased my strength several times over! The Chaos Divine Body truly is a physique formidable enough to make even the Great Powers of the Upper Realm tremble!’

’If I’m fortunate enough to obtain Divine Beast Essence Blood and activate the Divine Beast phantoms within my cells, turning them into solid entities... just how powerful would I become?’

Shen Lang pushed himself off the floor with both hands, standing up with some difficulty. His gaze swept over the Ghost King and the four Bone Demons, and he nodded slightly.

”Good work. You’ve all made progress in your cultivation. Alright, it’s time for us to go.”

As he spoke, Shen Lang abruptly clenched his fists and his body shuddered!

”PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!”

The eighteen golden needles shot out like streaks of light, embedding themselves in the wall.

After recalling the Ghost King and the Bone Demons into the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, a bare-chested Shen Lang pushed open the door to the Gravity Chamber.

The moment the door opened, Sima Fenghen, who was standing beside it, reacted immediately. She stepped forward, ready to deliver a few sarcastic remarks.

But before she could utter a word, a foul, nauseating stench assaulted her!

Sima Fenghen’s face paled. She stumbled backward, clapping a hand over her nose as she turned away and began to retch uncontrollably.

Many of the other students waiting nearby fared no better than Sima Fenghen.

A group of them had been about to crowd around and try to cozy up to him, but when Shen Lang opened the door, a wave of stench so potent it could startle heaven and make ghosts weep sent them reeling.

The group closest to the door was nearly knocked unconscious by the smell.

After stimulating his body with the ”Golden Needle Acupoint Forging Body Technique,” all sorts of filth and sweat had been expelled from Shen Lang’s pores. Over seven days, a thick layer of grime had accumulated on the floor of the Gravity Chamber.

The stench was simply unstoppable, overpowering all in its path...

Sima Fenghen had been standing right at the door and took the full brunt of it. She nearly fainted, her eyes rolling back in her head.

She hated Shen Lang to death in that moment, but unfortunately, she couldn’t even open her mouth to curse him.

”Gahaha, see? I told you I was going to take a shower for your own good. Elder Yan’s cultivation is profound, but even he might not be able to withstand this overwhelming stench! Haha!” Shen Lang let out a strange laugh and took off running.

Sima Fenghen had no time to talk back. Clamping her hand over her nose, she also bolted, all semblance of a beautiful lady’s grace gone.

The dignified daughter of the Dean of Tayun Academy’s Alchemy Institute, in such a sorry state for the first time...

Sima Yan had originally intended to come himself, but she had pleaded and argued until she was given the errand instead.

On her way here, she had imagined countless scenarios for their meeting, but never this one.

’That bastard! He’s gone too far!’

Shen Lang’s standing in Sima Fenghen’s eyes plummeted instantly.

...

By the time Shen Lang returned after a hot shower, Sima Fenghen had finally reverted to her usual frosty, unapproachable appearance.

No matter what Shen Lang said to her, she remained silent.

Her fuming expression only made Shen Lang want to laugh.

But Shen Lang’s amusement didn’t last long.

The moment he entered the secret room of the Artifact Refining Institute, his face fell.

Flanking Shen Lang were Sima Yan on one side and Mo Liusheng on the other.

And in front of him, shelves were packed with countless jars and bottles. Each glass vial was the same size, and each contained the same radiant medicinal liquid.

Giant Potions!

Hundreds of them!

Seeing this, Shen Lang couldn’t help but shoot Sima Yan a strange look...

’If it weren’t for Sima Yan’s advanced age, Shen Lang really wanted to ask, ’Elder Yan, you get one formula and you brew it to death, filling a whole room with Giant Potions. Don’t you feel the strain?’’

Sima Yan said, a little embarrassed, ”Well... that formula you gave me truly is miraculous. The ingredients are easy to gather and inexpensive. After I finished researching it, my hands just got itchy... hehe, hehe!”

Mo Liusheng added, quite jealously, ”This old fellow has been neglecting his sleep and meals to make these. Look, there are over two hundred bottles of Giant Potion here. You couldn’t gather this many in the entire Purple Chu Country on such short notice.”

”So... Elder Yan, what did you want me to see here? This stuff isn’t very useful to me anymore,” Shen Lang said casually, propping his chin on his hand.

For a Martial Artist in the Spirit Martial Realm, the effect of a Giant Potion weakens as their cultivation level increases. For those at the seventh or eighth level of the Spirit Martial Realm or higher, the effect is basically negligible.

As for Shen Lang himself, he had the ”Burst” secret technique, which he could use at any time for an effect better than the Giant Potion, and with fewer side effects.

To him, these Giant Potions were less practical than Spirit Stones.

Sima Yan gave an awkward smile and said, ”I know you have no use for them, but the Shen Family can certainly use them. Besides, we have the formula now, so these aren’t a big deal to us. I mean, you should take all of them. Give them to the Shen Family or auction them off, whatever you like.”

”Take all of them?” Shen Lang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He might not need them, but they were still extremely valuable items.

Regardless, Sima Yan had spent a great deal of time and energy on these. And even if the ingredients were *relatively* cheap, that was only in relative terms; the actual cost was still substantial.

If he were to auction these off, they would truly represent a massive fortune.

”That’s right, Xiaolang, take them all. This is the Dean’s wish as well,” Mo Liusheng chimed in. ”Now that this old fellow and the Dean know the formula, Tayun Academy can produce as many Giant Potions as it wants. So don’t be polite... The Shen Family has only just established itself in Celestial Phoenix City. Even with a Sect like the Imperial Dragon Sect backing you, these Giant Potions can still be of some use in strengthening your family.”

”Since you both insist, it would be rude of me to refuse.”

Shen Lang nodded. Without another word, he swept his right hand, and a brilliant white light shot out from his Sumeru Ring, pulling all two hundred-plus bottles of Giant Potion inside.

’I’ll set some aside for my sister, leave some for the Shen Family, and exchange the rest for other materials later on.’

After stowing the Giant Potions and chatting with Sima Yan and Mo Liusheng for a while longer, Shen Lang didn’t linger and flew directly toward the Phoenix Mountain Range.

There were two women it was time for him to see.

...

In the evening, the sun withdrew its piercing glare, transforming into a brilliant golden disc.

The cloudless sky was a vast, clear blue, like a pristine celestial lake. In the distance, the majestic mountains were bathed in the sunset, coated in a layer of gold that made them appear exceptionally magnificent.

”TAP.”

With a soft sound, Shen Lang’s figure landed amidst a pile of rubble, coming to a stop on a green-tinged stone.

This was the place where he and the Blood Race Saintess, Alice, had hidden from the experts of the Imperial Dragon Sect.

The array was still active, but Shen Lang’s Divine Thought could not detect the slightest trace of a presence.

’Everything nearby is as it was. There are no signs of a fight, and it doesn’t even look like anyone has been here...’

Shen Lang stepped into the array he had set up before. As expected, there was no sign of Alice inside.

A silver line flashed in his eyes as he slowly scanned a corner with his Silver Eyes of Truth, his gaze stopping on the edge of the stone he had sat on before.

Beside that stone, a nearly unnoticeable ball of light was silently pulsating.

Shen Lang reached out with one hand and snatched it from the air.

”POP!”

The thumb-sized ball of light was immediately crushed in his palm, shattering abruptly.

A blood-red, heart-shaped object fell into Shen Lang’s palm.

Then, in the silent, dark corner, light suddenly flared, and a phantom image of Alice slowly materialized...