Strongest War Emperor

’All the Spiritual Qi is gone... The essence has completely vanished, and it’s already started to wither and age... It really... It actually bore fruit...’

”But... where’s the Thousand-leaf Fruit? Where’s my Thousand-leaf Fruit!” Chen Tianci roared.

After a good while, the crestfallen man finally calmed down a little. On the verge of tears, he glanced at the Demon Companion Grass, then his eyes swept to the side. He was so angry he started laughing. ”Son of a bitch! Breaking my array and snatching my Thousand-leaf Fruit is one thing, but he even took the Array Banners I worked so damn hard to refine!”

”What the hell kind of person is this? He’s the patriarch of plunder! How can someone so shameless, so despicable exist! Aaaahhh...”

He tore at his hair with both hands in a frenzy. After a good while, Chen Tianci stood up, his eyes lifeless, and muttered to himself, ’His Majesty the Barbarian Emperor said my luck is world-shaking, that my blessed fortune is nearly unrivaled... Unless I meet someone with even greater luck, I could trip on the road and still find a treasure.’

’I stumbled upon this Demon Companion Grass by a twist of fate and stood guard in this godforsaken place for over two years. Everything was under my control, but then this Shen Lang suddenly popped out of nowhere and snatched the Exotic Treasure that should have been mine... Could it be that his luck is even greater than mine? How is that possible? His Majesty the Barbarian Emperor said even His Majesty couldn’t compare to my luck!’

’Son of a bitch... That kid’s cultivation is heaven-defying. He wiped out four Spirit Martial Realm Seventh Heaven masters in just a few moves, and he has two incredibly powerful Bone Demons with him. If his luck is also this astounding, trying to get the Thousand-leaf Fruit back from him is a total pipe dream...’

’I’m so furious! I waited for more than two whole years! And just like that, it’s all gone... all of it... How can such a shameless and terrifying person exist in this world!’

Chen Tianci stared blankly at the Demon Companion Grass, almost tempted to march over and stomp the plant to pieces.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, a furious roar suddenly erupted from behind him!

The roar was as loud as thunder, carrying an indescribable rage and Killing Intent, as if it intended to obliterate everything in its sight.

An overwhelming wave of terrifying, scorching heat washed over Chen Tianci from behind!

’What’s that thing? This roar... sounds a bit familiar...’

Chen Tianci’s mind was still in a daze. He hadn’t fully processed what was happening.

He turned around, still puzzled, and the sight was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head—a Demon Beast the size of a calf, wreathed in what looked like a ball of fire, was charging toward him like a hurricane!

In the blink of an eye, it was already within sixty meters!

It was the same Fire Raccoon Beast he had trapped earlier, and it was back!

”Holy shit!” Chen Tianci leaped three feet into the air. Without a second thought, he turned tail and ran!

He had no means of dealing with a Fire Attribute Demon Beast at the Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven...

He had already had several close calls just trying to lure it into his array, and had nearly been burned to a crisp!

Now that the Fire Raccoon Beast was back, its rage would surely make its attacks far more swift and frenzied than before...

’It’s over, it’s over! How did I get cornered by this Demon Beast right outside my own camp? What do I do? There’s no way my two legs can outrun its four!’

As Chen Tianci ran, he flung Talismans behind him, hoping to slow the Fire Raccoon Beast’s pursuit.

’The Fire Raccoon Beast couldn’t have broken my array that fast! It hasn’t even been fifteen minutes... Ah, son of a bitch, it must be Shen Lang! It had to be Shen Lang!’

”Aah, Shen Lang, you son of a bitch! What grudge do you have against me to treat me like this? I will never let you get away with this!”

Immediately, his blood-curdling, resentful screams echoed from the jungle.

The sound of his screams was enough to make one weep...

Meanwhile, the architect of this whole affair, Shen Lang, had already returned to Qingfeng Stronghold with Nalan Ziyun.

The wails from within Qingfeng Stronghold were no less miserable than Chen Tianci’s—because Shen Lang was planning to leave with Nalan Ziyun!

The people of Qingfeng Stronghold had just seen Shen Lang return with a beautiful woman and were wondering why she bore a slight resemblance to their First Chieftain when the woman herself spoke up. ”Everyone has worked hard. Once Bone One and Bone Two get back, Shen Lang and I will be leaving this place. The Second Chieftain will take over as First Chieftain from now on, and the others can move up in rank.”

Everyone in the stronghold was stunned. The fact that their First Chieftain was a woman was, at most, a surprise—one they were actually happy about. But that Shen Lang was leaving and she was going with him... that was a major problem.

Qingfeng Stronghold had only just defeated the invading forces and extorted a great deal of loot. How could these two just up and leave?

If they left and those factions attacked again, who would be able to stop them?

”Sir, I beg you to stay,” Zhang Xiaoshan said, his voice hoarse. ”Stay here in Qingfeng Stronghold. With a single command from you, no one here would dare to disobey!”

Even as he said it, though, he felt a lack of conviction. ’Words like these carry no weight at all.’

’Qingfeng Stronghold is just a bandit’s nest, and a second-rate one at that. With the kind of power he’s shown, forget our stronghold—he could probably take over the three great Mercenary Corps of Illusion Mist City if he wanted. Why would he ever agree to stay here?’

’Never mind anything else, just those two Bone Demons... If he unleashed them on the three great Mercenary Corps, it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to have those powerful corps slaughtered to the point of crying for their mothers!’

’What do we have that could make him stay? The Thousand-leaf Dew? We hardly get any of that in an entire year.’

”Alright, alright, cut it out with all the weeping and wailing,” Shen Lang said, waving his hand dismissively. ”I’m out here to cultivate, not to conquer territory. My business here is finished, so there’s no point in lingering.”

Looking a little annoyed, Shen Lang waved his hand and said, ”I used a contract to restrain Zhang Cheng from the White Rainbow Sect, so he won’t dare to make a move on you again. Besides, I’m the one who wrecked him, not you. And as for the Lone Wolf Mercenary Corps and the other two powers, did you really think I sent Bone One and Bone Two just to be bodyguards for your Second Chieftain?”

”What? You had something else in mind?” Nalan Ziyun asked, taken aback.

Shen Lang snorted. ”This is a world where the strong are revered. Whoever has the bigger fist gets to stand their ground, acquire more resources, and have more say. Those three factions didn’t send that many men to attack the mountain. Even if every single attacker died, it wouldn’t be a huge loss for them. When your Second Chieftain goes to collect the ’debt,’ he’s bound to run into conflict. The people from those factions aren’t going to pay up easily just for the men they lost up here...”

”So, you sent Bone One and Bone Two to go on a killing spree?” Nalan Ziyun asked, her interest piqued.

Shen Lang chuckled. ”I’m not that bloodthirsty. I just told them that if anyone gets arrogant, break their legs. If they’re even more arrogant, then making an example of them is a good choice. After that, they should destroy more than half of those factions’ buildings and facilities. All of that costs money. We’ll see if they still dare to have ideas about Qingfeng Stronghold after this.”

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of the Qingfeng Stronghold members, Shen Lang added, ”Don’t worry about them retaliating. These factions are the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. After getting roughed up by Bone One and Bone Two, and once they find out the miserable fate of the four from the White Rainbow Sect, they won’t have the guts to target Qingfeng Stronghold again.”

”What you need to do now is find that traitor and eliminate him. Then, spend some money to fortify the mountain’s defenses... I may have never been a mountain bandit, but even I can tell you’re all terrible at it. Qingfeng Stronghold is easy to defend and hard to attack, yet all you do is place some rolling logs and rocks at the various passes. How much use do you think that stuff is against a powerful Martial Artist?”

”You should go buy things like poison powders. Blow some downwind, and you can easily wipe out more than half of them. And buy some powerful Talismans to keep on hand. On a mountain path like yours, a single Earth Spike Talisman could easily send dozens of people tumbling off a cliff to be smashed into pulp.”

The men wiped the sweat from their brows, thinking, ’Easy for you to say. Do you think things that can poison a Martial Artist, not to mention Talismans, are free?’

’Qingfeng Stronghold is just a poor mountain hideout. Where would we get that many Spirit Stones?’

’Well, we did just get a windfall, so we could consider it... Still, the thought of spending it hurt.’

”Reporting, Sir! The two Bone Demon masters and the Second Chieftain have returned...” someone announced as they entered.

PS: Four Chapters again today! Begging for recommendation votes, begging for tips, rolling on the floor begging for anything and everything...