Strongest War Emperor

With a dark look on his face, Shen Lang said, ”They’ve really blown this out of proportion. Those guys aren’t very bright, are they? All they do is cause trouble for me.”

His palm rested on the table, his index finger tapping lightly on the surface.

After a good while, he sighed and said, ”There’s no need to be so worried. A fight won’t break out. If one does, it’ll be us beating them up.”

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Although everyone knew Shen Lang and the Bone Demon were formidable, they were still outnumbered. How could he possibly fight a Xuanwu Realm Powerhouse?

No matter how strong he was, could he make an enemy of all of Illusion Mist City?

Now that things had escalated so much, even if he was powerful, he was going to leave eventually. Once he was gone, Qingfeng Stronghold would be finished.

Even if they weren’t finished, Qingfeng Stronghold would be isolated by all the other powers. It would be impossible to survive in Illusion Mist City.

At these thoughts, the hearts of the Qingfeng Stronghold members sank once more.

They truly couldn’t understand where Shen Lang’s confidence came from.

’Unless Shen Lang’s power is great enough to directly destroy or conquer Illusion Mist City, everything else is just empty talk.’

’Even if he could conquer Illusion Mist City, the city belongs to the White Rainbow Sect, a Profound Iron Level Influence. No matter how strong he is, how could he possibly contend with such a Major Sect?’

’After all, there are many things in this world that can’t be solved by force alone...’

”Hey, what are you still hesitating for?” Nalan Ziyun said impatiently. ”Just go talk to An Fengrui directly. Tell him you know Shangguan Feiyue. That’ll scare the life out of him! What’s the White Rainbow Sect so arrogant about? They’re just one of dozens of Profound Iron Level Influences under the Imperial Dragon Sect. An Fengrui probably doesn’t even have much status in the White Rainbow Sect. A mere Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven Martial Artist... what’s that?”

The surrounding group of people started to break out in a cold sweat.

The Chieftain had always been brazen, but this was the first time they had seen her this brazen.

’What did she mean, ”What’s the White Rainbow Sect so arrogant about?”’

’What did she mean, ”A mere Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven Martial Artist... what’s that?”’

’We’re already about to be wiped out by just one An Fengrui from the White Rainbow Sect. Do you want to make an enemy of the entire White Rainbow Sect?’

”From the sound of it, does the Chieftain mean Lord Shen Lang has deep ties to the Imperial Dragon Sect? Holy crap, then we must be saved!”

The Second-in-command and Zhang Xiaosan, being the quicker-witted ones, were both beaming with joy.

Shen Lang took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, ”An Fengrui... yes, I’ll definitely go have a talk with him. I was just thinking about that mineral vein we found on the way back, and what percentage would be appropriate to give them.”

”A mineral vein?” The people of Qingfeng Stronghold were stunned.

Nalan Ziyun held up two fingers. ”Twenty percent, at most! Are you kidding me? That’s a rare Black Iron Vein. It might not be very long, but its value is immense.”

”Alright.” Shen Lang nodded slightly.

He turned to the Second-in-command and said, ”On our way back, we discovered a Black Iron Vein on Celestial City Peak. However, the area is teeming with High Tier Demon Beasts, and part of the vein is located on cliffs shrouded in poisonous fog. The people of Qingfeng Stronghold don’t have the strength to mine it, so...”

The Second-in-command and the others pricked up their ears, their eyes fixed on him, not daring to even blink.

”So, I’ll go have a chat with An Fengrui and have the City Lord’s Mansion cooperate with you to mine this vein. I’ll give them twenty percent, and you get ten percent. Stop being bandits in the future. Go do business in Illusion Mist City. I’ll have An Fengrui protect you. From now on, you’ll be able to swagger through Illusion Mist City without a care in the world.” As he spoke, Shen Lang started walking out of the meeting hall.

”An Fengrui and his people are really taking their sweet time. I was originally going to have him come up the mountain to talk to me, but now I have to go to him. No, that annoys me. I’ll just give them ten percent.” Shen Lang muttered as he walked outside. With a WHOOSH, he shot into the sky and vanished.

He left the group from Qingfeng Stronghold staring at each other, unable to process what had just happened for a long time.

’Weren’t we just talking about the life and death of Qingfeng Stronghold? How did it suddenly turn to a mineral vein? Is Lord Shen Lang planning to bribe An Fengrui with the vein? But his tone... it just doesn’t feel right, does it?’

Nalan Ziyun frowned and waved her hand dismissively. ”Alright, everyone scatter. Go home to your mothers. Eat if you’re hungry, sleep if you’re tired... Oh, right. Situ, go arrange for some men. When the City Lord’s Mansion sends people for the mining, make sure you assign some trustworthy and sharp guys to watch them closely. Don’t let them steal any ore. If anyone dares to steal ore, break their legs for me!”

”Yaaawn!” She let out a yawn and stretched languidly.

”...”

The people of Qingfeng Stronghold were dumbfounded. Here they were, a huge group of them scared out of their wits, yet the Chieftain and Lord Shen Lang were acting as if it was no big deal.

’Judging by their attitude, it seems like they’re still agonizing over giving An Fengrui that ten percent of the vein?’

’How is this happening? We can’t understand it. The matter of Illusion Mist City’s major powers attacking our mountain hasn’t even been resolved, so how did we jump to talking about a mineral vein?’

’Even though he’s gone to find City Lord An Fengrui, nothing is settled yet. How can the Chieftain speak about it with such certainty?’

’If you call it a bribe, he’s only giving them ten percent of the vein, and he’s even making them work as the miners.’

’But if you say it’s not a bribe... hmm, it really doesn’t seem like one. Who goes to bribe someone with that much arrogance?’

’Even if it is a bribe, the problem is, how can the Chieftain be so sure that An Fengrui can be dealt with?’

’Black Iron Ore is extremely rare. What if An Fengrui covets it for himself? Wouldn’t Qingfeng Stronghold be destroyed even faster?’

’He might just use his full power to wipe us out completely...’

The people of Qingfeng Stronghold grew even more anxious. Absolutely no one was willing to leave; they just remained in the meeting hall, sighing and staring blankly at one another.

’All we can do now is wait for news from Lord Shen Lang. I hope he can really...’ Second-in-command Situ Wang thought, coughing.

At that moment, Shen Lang, the man on whom everyone in Qingfeng Stronghold had pinned their hopes, had already left the stronghold and was heading toward Illusion Mist City.

Just as he arrived outside Illusion Mist City, he felt a grim, murderous atmosphere.

The air was filled with a palpable tension that made one feel restless.

”’These guys are really kicking up a fuss. Looks like they’re dead set on wiping out Qingfeng Stronghold.’ Shen Lang thought with a wry smile, then locked onto a tall building in the distance and accelerated toward it.

”Halt! State your identity and sect!”

The moment Shen Lang arrived above the city walls, a large squad of soldiers in full armor on the high walls of Illusion Mist City aimed their bows at him in unison.

The arrowheads all emitted an eerie glow; every one of them was an incredibly sharp Demon-Breaking Arrow!

Shen Lang had no time to bother with these guards. He merely gave the man on the wall who had spoken an indifferent glance. With a flicker, he left a faint trail in the air as he crossed over the wall and vanished into the distance.

”Damn... that... that speed!” The squad leader who had spoken earlier was shocked. ”Enemy attack! Sound the alarm and notify the City Lord immediately!”