Strongest War Emperor

Many of the people here had heard of Shen Lang.

It was said that even the Dark Tower Three Heroes, led by Xu Ziyang, had been forced to retreat in failure after taking him on.

And apparently, he had saved Miss Nangong’s life once before.

But the specifics of these events were unknown to most.

Regardless, they had heard Shen Lang was only about sixteen or seventeen. While the people of the Shadow Tower acknowledged his talent, they didn’t believe he could be that powerful.

No matter how talented he was, how could a sixteen-year-old boy defeat the Fire and Jade Qilins from the Blood Wing Demon Sect, who were at the Sixth Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm?

After all, Xu Ziyang, the leader of the Dark Tower Three Heroes, was only at the Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm and hadn’t even broken through to the Xuanwu Realm.

”Maybe Miss Nangong is just trying to comfort us? After all, we’re in such a desperate situation...”

”Relying on a sixteen-year-old boy is absurd. The Fire and Jade Qilins are infamous figures. Even if the Left and Right Wing Protectors from the Shadow Tower came, they might not be able to get us out of here...”

”Since Qu City has already gone out for reinforcements, perhaps he’ll find other help. For now, every moment we can hold on gives us a little more hope.”

Nangong Jianqiu told everyone to rest and recover, but she stood up herself.

With a single thought, something the size of a fingernail flew out from her body. It expanded in the air, transforming into black and red scales that covered her from head to toe.

The moment the Scale Armor attached to her, Nangong Jianqiu’s aura exploded outwards!

Her face began to turn pale, while the Scale Armor grew increasingly vibrant and red.

”Miss Nangong, with your current Cultivation, you shouldn’t be using the Blood Scale Armor!” the man wearing a half-mask cried out in alarm.

The others all opened their eyes and crowded around her, each one loudly trying to talk her out of it.

Ye Juexin stepped forward and placed a hand on Nangong Jianqiu’s shoulder. But to her surprise, dense spikes suddenly erupted from the Scale Armor, instantly piercing her palm!

Even with her incredible speed, Ye Juexin couldn’t dodge it in time!

Ye Juexin stared at her profusely bleeding palm. She quickly pressed several of her own acupoints while simultaneously channeling her Spiritual Power to staunch the flow.

However, the small puncture wounds in her palm refused to close. Blood continued to pour out in a most unsettling way!

”Careful! Don’t touch Miss Nangong!”

The man in the half-mask cried out, rushing over. He took out a small vial of medicinal powder and sprinkled it on Ye Juexin’s palm.

The powder covered the wounds, and the bleeding finally stopped.

Ye Juexin pulled her hand away, her expression grim. ”That Scale Armor is feeding on you! Are you feeding it with your own blood? What exactly is this Blood Scale Armor?”

She hadn’t been with the Shadow Tower for long, so she didn’t know about such a forbidden item.

Nangong Jianqiu gave a bitter smile. ”It’s a special Scale Armor made by our Shadow Tower. It consumes the user’s Essence Blood and, in return, grants them immense power, allowing a Martial Artist’s Cultivation to skyrocket for a short period.”

”And the consequences?” Ye Juexin asked coldly.

Nangong Jianqiu remained silent. The man in the half-mask sighed and explained, ”The consequences... If you’re lucky, your Cultivation will plummet after you take off the Scale Armor, and you’ll become incredibly weak. But after a period of rest, you can recover.”

”If you’re not lucky, your Cultivation could drop several Realms, or the Scale Armor could drain your life force completely.”

”Every set of Blood Scale Armor contains a powerful Blood Beast, bound by a contract Seal. Only by feeding it with Essence Blood can you draw upon its immense power...”

His voice trailed off, and he lowered his head as he finished speaking.

Tears welled in the eyes of the surrounding people.

Ye Juexin shook her head. ”Even if you use the Blood Scale Armor, and your Cultivation is currently rising, you can’t possibly reach the Sixth Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm. Even if you could, it would only be a Pseudo-Sixth Heaven. Without a Cultivation Technique capable of supporting the Sixth Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm, you still won’t be able to defeat the Fire and Jade Qilins.”

Just then, a look of delight flashed across the half-masked man’s face. ”That’s it! We can’t win, but we might have a chance to escape!”

”As long as we can hold them back, Miss Nangong can use her boosted Cultivation to escape!”

Nangong Jianqiu shook her head. ”You fool. Jade Qilin’s Body Technique is as fast as lightning. A Martial Artist at the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of the Xuanwu Realm would be courting death to compete with her speed! Besides, how can a Flying Spiritual Artifact possibly outrun the Spiritual Wings of a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse?”

”I put on the Blood Scale Armor simply to buy more time. I’m waiting for Shen Lang.”

”What?! Miss Nangong is using the Blood Scale Armor just to stall for time until Shen Lang gets here?” The faces of the others were etched with disbelief.

Nangong Jianqiu flicked her wrist, producing ten vials of a potion, and placed them on the stone table behind her.

”Ten vials of Giant Potion. The ten of you with the highest Cultivation take one each. The moment the Stone Gate is breached, drink it.”

”The Giant Potion has a diminished effect on Martial Artists at the Sixth and Seventh Heavens of the Spirit Martial Realm, but right now, we need every bit of strength we can get!”

”More strength means more hope! It means a better chance of survival for our comrades!”

Nangong Jianqiu’s voice rang with passion. ”Only Shen Lang can save us! Jifeng, Dark Night, put on the Blood Scale Armor! The three of us, along with Jue Xin and her swift Body Technique, can definitely hold off the Fire and Jade Qilins for a while!”

”Between the Stone Gate and the time we buy, Shen Lang will surely arrive! Once he’s here, we’ll be saved! Everyone, let’s give it everything we’ve got!”

The man in the half-mask—Jifeng—let out a long sigh. ”If it’s an order from Miss Nangong, I dare not refuse. I’ll put on the Blood Scale Armor right now. But... from what I know, this Shen Lang is just a teenager. Even if he’s powerful, at best he’s only a little stronger than we are. How can we entrust all our lives to him?”

”After putting on the Blood Scale Armor, our Cultivation will surge, but it won’t last long. Afterwards, we’ll be weakened, just like with the Giant Potion. We’ll be completely helpless, like lambs to the slaughter. Even a three-year-old could kill us.”

”To say that a sixteen-year-old boy can fight off two Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven powerhouses, plus more than twenty Spirit Martial Realm experts... I... I just can’t believe it...”

No one else spoke, clearly finding it hard to believe that such a hopeless situation could have such a miraculous turnaround.

Miss Nangong had given them hope, but it felt far too slim.

To stake all their lives on a teenager they had never even met... to these people who had walked in the shadows for years, it seemed utterly preposterous.

The stone chamber fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Ye Juexin spoke up. ”No one can save us but him. You can disbelieve me, you can disbelieve him, but are you telling me you don’t even trust Miss Nangong?”

”Miss Nangong put on the Blood Scale Armor for all of us, to give us a sliver of hope, and here you are, a bunch of grown men, still whining and hesitating! What is wrong with you?”

”We’re facing death either way, and there are many ways to die! Since we can’t avoid it, let’s go out in a blaze of glory! Fight with everything you have! If an assassin is afraid to die, then what’s the point of being an assassin? You might as well go home, buy a mansion, hire a few maids, and live out your days as a pampered lord!”

These words from the normally quiet Ye Juexin made the men blush with shame.

Jifeng and Dark Night exchanged a look, nodded, and each took out a set of Blood Scale Armor to put on.

Instantly, their auras, along with Nangong Jianqiu’s, began to climb steadily, surging to a level where they could contend with Xuanwu Realm powerhouses!

Time trickled by.

More than half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as everyone in the stone chamber stood ready with weapons drawn, a deafening BOOM erupted from the Stone Gate.

The entire chamber trembled.

Then, they watched as the Stone Gate instantly exploded, sending shards of rock blasting inwards.

Immediately, the incoming shrapnel and dust began to spin violently, pulling back the way they came!

It was as if a vortex outside had sucked all the rock and dust back into it!

As the dust settled, Nangong Jianqiu and her people all gasped.

Outside the chamber stood a tall, veiled young woman. With a slight turn of her five jade-white fingers, she had created the very vortex that absorbed all the rock and dust!

To launch such a powerful attack and then recall all the resulting debris...

It was clear the young woman had cultivated her control over power to a formidable level, able to release and retract it at will.

Though she wore a veil, her tall, graceful figure and fair, flawless skin were enough to reveal a beauty capable of toppling nations.

In particular, her long, flawless legs were bare, exuding a seductive charm.

The only thing that was hard to comprehend was how a girl so young could possess such powerful Cultivation!

She walked slowly into the chamber, her eyes as cold as ice, and silently watched Nangong Jianqiu and the others.

The ball of compressed stone in her hand began to trickle down like fine sand, forming a tall mound on the floor.

”Jade Qilin!”

The eyes of Nangong Jianqiu and her companions narrowed.

”Hee hee hee, the people of the Shadow Tower certainly know how to pick their spots. To think you’d find a place like this in the middle of a swamp to build a stronghold.”

As the voice faded, a voluptuous woman in a fiery red dress entered, swaying her hips.

”Fire Qilin!”

So many of the Shadow Tower’s masters had died at the hands of these two—the Fire and Jade Qilins!

Fire Qilin giggled seductively. ”My, Miss Nangong, you have some nerve, daring to lay a hand on people from our Blood Wing Demon Sect. If that old patriarch of yours knew you were so reckless, I wonder how furious he’d be?”