Strongest War Emperor

Given Zhuge Xian’Er’s sharp intellect, she understood what Shen Lang was about to say after hearing just his first sentence.

In fact, in all the years since she had been afflicted with the Black Crow Witchcraft, she had spent most of her time researching Restriction Arrays on her own.

Unfortunately, while the people of Blood Evil Island had treated her well, Black and White Impermanence ultimately still saw her as an outsider.

They never taught her any of Blood Evil Island’s more advanced Restriction Arrays.

Otherwise, with her level of Cultivation and meticulous nature, how could she have spent all these years afflicted by the Black Crow Witchcraft and remained completely unaware that a Restriction had also been placed inside her body using it?

For Zhuge Xian’Er, what she currently lacked to study Restriction Arrays was an expert mentor and access to powerful examples of them.

Both of these were opportunities that one could only stumble upon by chance, not actively seek out.

If she could meet these two conditions, with her natural talent, Zhuge Xian’Er could absolutely reach the apex of the Array Dao!

A glimmer of hope appeared in Zhuge Xian’Er’s eyes as she stared at Shen Lang, her gaze burning with intensity...

’He set up a Grand Array in the Dark Moon Abyss to slaughter several King Martial Realm powerhouses.’

’He easily defeated the experts from the Artifact Origin Sect at the Profound Dao Sect, even snatching their Treasure of the Sect, the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars!’

’He even casually dispelled the Heaven and Earth Seal Restriction, something she couldn’t even detect...’

All of this made it clear even to a layperson that Shen Lang possessed a peerless and tyrannical mastery of Restriction Arrays!

”I understand,” Zhuge Xian’Er said, nodding as she suppressed the wild joy in her heart. ”As long as you are willing to guide me, Big Brother, I will not disappoint your high hopes!”

Shen Lang smiled faintly, took a Jade Scroll from his Sumeru Ring, and handed it to Zhuge Xian’Er. ”This was put together in a hurry. It only records a small portion of my experience with the Array Dao, along with a few powerful Arrays and Restrictions.”

”When I have more time, I’ll record everything I know about Arrays and Restrictions for you. With your talent, Xian’Er, it won’t be long before you can count on one hand the number of people in this world who can challenge you in this field!”

At these words, the expressions of Evil Song and Duanmu Xie, who stood to the side, changed dramatically.

His tone was casual, yet his words were unbelievably arrogant and domineering, filled with an indescribable self-assurance.

Who else in the entire world would dare to make such a claim?

”Arrays allow one to touch upon the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. They borrow Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to control the power of the world itself. This is, of course, easier said than done.”

”If you master powerful Arrays and Restrictions to the point of perfection, you can turn billions of living beings into your soldiers and millions of Divine Demons into your generals. All the nature’s spiritual energy in the world becomes yours to command. When you can use the starry sky as your chessboard and Divine Demons as your pieces, who under the heavens could possibly stand against you?”

Shen Lang’s words made Evil Song and Duanmu Xie, standing beside him, eager to learn as well.

Everyone understood how powerful Arrays and Restrictions were.

The problem was that the Array Dao was far more difficult and complex than Martial Arts. Without an expert teacher’s guidance, all effort would be in vain.

Shen Lang had clearly reached an unimaginable level in this field. If he were to offer them guidance, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to make incredible breakthroughs in a short amount of time.

However, when the man and the Zombie looked at Shen Lang with eager eyes, they were immediately disappointed. Shen Lang clearly had no intention of teaching them about Arrays and Restrictions as well.

In Shen Lang’s view, everyone had different talents, and since time and energy were limited, there was no need to learn everything.

After all, someone with the heaven-defying aptitude of a War Emperor was a once-in-a-lifetime existence.

Just as Shen Lang handed the Jade Scroll to Zhuge Xian’Er and was about to say more, his expression suddenly shifted. ’Are those bastards from the Artifact Origin Sect really looking to die? They actually dared to fight their way in here?’

Zhuge Xian’Er and the others were stunned for a moment before they all understood.

It seemed the Artifact Origin Sect experts waiting outside the Imperial Capital had grown tired of waiting for Xian’Er and Ying Huo to return, and had come directly into the city to find the Profound Dao Sect.

...

The Profound Dao Sect’s residence was brightly lit.

In the vast courtyard, hundreds of disciples stood with their Spiritual Artifacts in hand, braced for a formidable enemy.

Several King Martial Realm Elder Ancestors were confronting the intruders who had forced their way into the compound.

The people of the Profound Dao Sect hadn’t felt this frustrated in a long time, not since Shen Lang had first burst onto the scene.

A group of their own had been injured, yet they didn’t dare provoke their opponents...

They had to wait for Shen Lang to arrive. Otherwise, the Profound Dao Sect alone was no match for these people; even with the combined forces of the Evil Wind Valley, Xiu Hua Sect, and the other sects, they would still be hopelessly outmatched.

Yin Shanhan, an Elder Ancestor of the Artifact Origin Sect and a Spirit Copper Level master, was at the First Heaven of the Emperor Martial Realm.

Behind him were three experts at the Fourth and Fifth Heaven of the King Martial Realm.

The moment the four of them stood in the courtyard, their torrential momentum billowed out. A savage wind raged, instantly blasting a group of disciples into the air and sending them crashing through several courtyard walls.

When had the Profound Dao Sect ever suffered such a humiliation?

Before the elders had even arrived, a group of reckless disciples who didn’t know their own limits grabbed their weapons and charged...

This would have been absolutely unthinkable in the past. Every disciple who qualified to come to the Imperial Capital for the grand tournament was exceptionally talented. How could they not sense the vast, ocean-like pressure emanating from their opponents?

But with Shen Lang as their backer, they felt confident enough to attack even a King Martial Realm expert!

The result was predictable. They had only just received their Demon Beasts and hadn’t even had a chance to show them off before they were all knocked to the ground.

Spirit Martial Realm cultivators daring to attack a King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven expert—wasn’t that just courting death?

In contrast, Nalan Ziyun and Chu Qingcheng were perfectly calm, sitting to one side and watching the scene unfold with cold indifference, not saying a word.

”Hmph, your Profound Dao Sect really knows how to put on airs!” a King Martial Realm expert from the Artifact Origin Sect said coldly. ”Making our Elder Ancestor wait outside the Imperial Capital for ages... Is this your idea of hospitality?”

”Get Shen Lang out here! I want to ask him myself if he has any respect for our Artifact Origin Sect!”

Despite being at the Fifth Heaven of the King Martial Realm, he barely moved. With just a soft shout, a gale of Powerful Qi erupted around him, sending sand and stones flying!

The disciples from the various sects who had gathered around were forced to scramble back once more.

”Heh heh heh... The Artifact Origin Sect really throws its weight around! Daring to come and cause trouble before my Lord? Are you tired of living?”

A voice that sounded like grinding metal echoed from beneath the ground.

A surge of black qi—domineering and ferocious, yet also sinister and bizarre—erupted from the ground. It formed into what looked like the tail of a giant python and lashed viciously at the man who had just spoken.

”Such powerful Corpse Qi!”

The King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven expert froze, his expression turning grave as he raised his hands to counterattack.

”Stand down!”

Yin Shanhan, who had been standing to the side, spoke coldly as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

After ordering the King Martial Realm expert to back down, Yin Shanhan’s robes began to flutter without any wind. A chilling, majestic wave of Powerful Qi coalesced into a Giant Sword that slashed down at the roiling cloud of Corpse Qi!

BOOM!

The python-like manifestation of Corpse Qi was instantly cleaved in two, then shattered and dispersed!

The Giant Sword, however, did not lose its momentum. It shot forward with incredible speed and instantly struck Duanmu Zheng in the chest.

BANG!

Duanmu Zheng’s massive body, which had just emerged from the ground, was struck by the Giant Sword. Ripples of Powerful Qi spread out as he stumbled back three large steps, looking to be in a very sorry state.

In that brief exchange, the spirited Duanmu Zheng had been thoroughly embarrassed and put on the back foot.

But this was to be expected. Back in the day, Duanmu Zheng, like his brother Duanmu Xie, had been crippled by an expert from the Celestial Purity Sect. His Cultivation had been forcibly knocked down from the Initial Tier of the Emperor Martial Realm all the way to the King Martial Realm.

He had painstakingly recuperated for nearly ten thousand years and had finally recovered a great deal, only to run into a freak of nature like Shen Lang.

Not only had Shen Lang repeatedly inflicted heavy injuries on him, but the Immortal Celestial Saber had even swallowed his head...

Having his head swallowed and then released sounds simple, but Duanmu Zheng’s Primordial Qi was severely damaged in the process.

It was only after Shen Lang helped the two brothers expel the Sword Qi from their bodies that the two Zombies recovered a bit of their Primordial Qi.

However, too little time had passed. Duanmu Zheng was still a considerable way off from returning to the Emperor Martial Realm.

As for Yin Shanhan, he was not only an Elder Ancestor of the Artifact Origin Sect but also an Artifact Refining Master. And the greatest strength of an Artifact Refining Master was their Divine Thought!

That seemingly simple sword strike, formed by gathering Spiritual Power with Divine Thought, had caused Duanmu Zheng to suffer a major disadvantage.

Duanmu Zheng had wanted to show off in front of the Profound Dao Sect, but he had ended up being humiliated instead. In a fit of rage, he let out a bizarre, high-pitched shriek!

”Well, I’ll be damned, the old bastard’s got some moves!” Duanmu Zheng puffed out his chest and yelled. ”That one didn’t count! I, your granddaddy, will fight you one-on-one for real this time!”

Although his Cultivation had yet to recover to its peak, his tyrannical body, impervious to blades and spears, was something that had even left Shen Lang somewhat amazed.

Relying on this formidable physique, he had no fear of battling Yin Shanhan!

Yin Shanhan, on the other hand, had no intention of getting drawn into a pointless brawl with him.

Yin Shanhan had intended for that sword strike—a fusion of his powerful Divine Thought and Spiritual Power, of which he was very proud—to heavily injure the Zombie. He never expected it would only force his opponent back three steps without harming so much as a single hair on his head.

’Against a Zombie this powerful,’ he thought, ’I’d probably be unable to do anything to him without using one of the Artifact Origin Sect’s most powerful Magical Treasures.’

More importantly, injuring a few low-level disciples from the Profound Dao Sect was one thing.

But if he went all out against this Zombie... a full-powered battle between Emperor Martial Realm experts could easily level the entire Imperial City.

If that happened, he would thoroughly offend the Royal Family of Purple Chu and the Imperial Dragon Sect.

Furthermore, any chance of reconciliation with Shen Lang would be completely lost...

Yin Shanhan flicked his sleeve and clasped his hands behind his back, adopting a posture that suggested he had no desire to fight with Duanmu Zheng. ”I came here to find Shen Lang,” he said. ”I have no interest in fighting a Zombie like you!”

”Heh, who would have thought that a so-called renowned and righteous sect like the Profound Dao Sect would harbor a Zombie!”

”Has the sect that once dominated the Western Wilderness truly fallen this far?”

Duanmu Zheng froze. He was no good at verbal sparring.

As for the members of the Profound Dao Sect, their expressions turned ugly at Yin Shanhan’s taunts.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was indeed a great humiliation for a proud Righteous Sect to rely on a Zombie to fight its battles.

Worse still, their Zombie King, Duanmu Zheng, had stepped forward only to be put at a disadvantage...

TAP... TAP... TAP...

Before anyone from the Profound Dao Sect could respond, the sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed from the distance.

All eyes immediately turned toward the small bamboo path behind the rockery.