Strongest War Emperor

Gu Feng was stunned to see Shen Lang show no interest at all.

This wasn’t what he had expected in the slightest.

"Ahem, as for the Nine Great Celestial Books, you don’t need to gather all of them, of course. As long as you can bring together four of the Nine Great Celestial Books, plus the Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons, to achieve the Nine-Nine Number, there will be a sliver of hope to overcome this calamity..."

Shen Lang raised an eyebrow. "And what if we can’t achieve the Nine-Nine Number? What happens then?"

Gu Feng’s face fell. "If we can’t do it, this world will be completely destroyed. The Star Continent will burst like a firework, putting on a dazzling display of light before vanishing into the Cosmos."

Shen Lang nodded. "Oh, I see. Alright, let’s talk about Shiyin and Dingdang now."

"..." Gu Feng was dumbfounded for a moment before he spoke. "You... aren’t you the least bit interested in the Celestial Books, which are said to be powerful enough to change the world?"

"Don’t you want to know how powerful those Celestial Books are? Don’t you want to know what kind of world-destroying power the Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons possess? The entire world is on the brink of destruction, and you’re not worried at all? As for those Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons, they are..."

Shen Lang cut Gu Feng off with a grin. "Not interested."

"Curiosity killed the cat. You should be looking for the Emperor Star for this kind of thing, not me. It’s useless."

"..." Gu Feng was speechless for a long time.

Shen Lang was completely unconventional. He had no curiosity and refused to follow Gu Feng’s script, leaving the old man at a loss.

And the deadliest part was that most things concerning Shen Lang were impossible to calculate, even for someone like him who could divine the heavens and the earth.

"Ah, well, actually, finding four of the Nine Great Celestial Books and the Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons isn’t that difficult. I can calculate their approximate locations, if you’re willing..."

Shen Lang interrupted Gu Feng once again. "I... am not... willing!"

"You old man, you just ramble on with your cryptic nonsense. One minute you’re saying you can’t calculate anything about me, the next you’re talking about the Emperor Star and my past life. You’ve said all the good and the bad, but when I want to know something specific, you suddenly don’t know a thing."

"Are you trying to trick me into being cannon fodder?"

"Find someone else for this stuff. Didn’t you just call me a Calamity Star? You want a Calamity Star like me to help you save the world? Are you out of your mind?"

"Enough with the chatter. Let’s move on to the second matter: Shiyin and Dingdang!"

Faced with the rogue-like Shen Lang, Gu Feng’s face grew as long as a donkey’s.

Gu Feng rolled his eyes and said, "I’m really not lying to you. I do know a little about your past life, just a tiny bit, but I really don’t dare to speak of it. You could kill me, and I still couldn’t say."

"As for your future, it’s just like the future of this world—full of uncertainty. No one can influence you but yourself... In all of heaven and earth, no one’s destiny can compare to yours. It’s impossible for anyone to divine your affairs..."

Shen Lang snorted. "Don’t be so absolute... You say no one can divine my affairs, so how could the Eternal Tree have dreamt of my birth? How did it know I would appear near the Earth Rift? And the Witch Race knew where I would appear hundreds of years in advance, they even had the Celestial Secret Mirror ready for me?"

"What? Those old geezers even gave you the Celestial Secret Mirror?" Gu Feng nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Hm?" Shen Lang shot him a sideways glance. "Looking at your reaction, don’t tell me you’re one of the Witch Race too?"

Gu Feng’s gaze darted about evasively, and he began to act all fidgety.

"You didn’t just learn a few third-rate tricks from the Witch Race and come out here to scam people, did you? I knew there was something off about you, old man!" Shen Lang glared at Gu Feng.

Gu Feng leaped three feet into the air. "Nonsense, nonsense! How could I have learned from them? I, Gu Feng, am the 981st generation Sect Leader of the Xuanyi Sect! Compared to my Xuanyi Sect, what does the Witch Race even amount to? Hmph!"

"Oh? Even the Witch Race is nothing to you? If you’re so incredible, then tell me about Shiyin and Dingdang." Shen Lang brought the conversation back around.

"..." Gu Feng froze, thoroughly exasperated.

After a long moment, he said, "The entire world is about to be destroyed, yet you’re not worried. Instead, you care so much about two women... Is it true that you’d choose love over power?"

"No, no, that’s not right. If the world is gone, your family and your beauties won’t survive either. You..."

Shen Lang shot Gu Feng an indifferent glare. "Old man, I’m only speaking to you this politely out of respect... I don’t need anyone else telling me what to do, nor do I need anyone to plan out the path I should walk. I will naturally fight to the death for my family and friends, but there’s really no need for you to keep trying to lure me into searching for some Nine Great Celestial Books or Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons."

"I’m not interested in that kind of game."

"No one can stop me from doing what I want to do, and if I don’t want to do something, your attempts to play the mystic and lure me in are useless. As for the Nine Great Celestial Books and the Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons, I can only say that I’ll try to keep an eye out, but I have my own things to do right now and no time to deal with this."

"As for Shiyin and Dingdang, are you going to talk or not? Just give me a straight answer!"

Gu Feng fell silent.

After a good while, Gu Feng hopped off the bluestone and hobbled away along the small path, muttering, "Life is like mist and dream, fate comes and goes as it pleases. One sorrow, one joy, all for naught. A blade of grass, a tree, a beauty... Two beauties, who are actually just one. Just one..."

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"An ill-fated connection from a past life must be repaid in this one. If you want them to live happily, don’t get entangled any further. Leave them..."

"As for the Nine Great Celestial Books and the Five Great Celestial Divine Weapons, you can ignore them for now. But one day, you will come looking for me. The wheels of fate have begun to turn. Although I cannot calculate your future, you will eventually walk that grand path."

Gu Feng’s voice faded as he walked away.

But Shen Lang did not pursue him.

"He wants me to leave them?" Shen Lang muttered to himself. "’Two beauties, who are actually just one.’ What does that mean?"

Just then, Shen Jianfeng came scurrying over. "Cousin! I found it! I found the Protective Talisman!"

Shen Lang made a grasping motion with his right hand, pulling the object from Shen Jianfeng’s hand through the air.

He opened his palm to reveal a piece of White Jade shaped like a Qilin.

The White Jade had a common luster and a crude shape. It didn’t emit even a hint of Spirit Light.

No wonder Shen Jianfeng had just grabbed it and tossed it in the water. It looked exactly like the kind of trinket that street swindlers used to fool people.

With a thought, Shen Lang channeled a sliver of Spiritual Power into the Protective Talisman.

However, the Protective Talisman showed no reaction at all...

Still not giving up, Shen Lang activated his Silver Eyes of Truth and stared at the Protective Talisman.

’Divine Power!’

He was stunned by what he saw!

Infused within that Jade Talisman was Divine Power, something completely different from the Spiritual Power or Demon Power of this world!

The purity of this Divine Power was nothing like that of the Witch Race; instead, it was extremely close to that of the Emperor Star!

’Besides an Upper Realm Divine Demon, who could possess such pure and unfathomable Divine Power?’

Shen Lang tossed the Jade Talisman to Shen Jianfeng, then his figure flickered and appeared three hundred meters away in the blink of an eye, chasing after Gu Feng.

However, in the short time that this little interlude had taken, Gu Feng was nowhere to be found when Shen Lang gave chase.

Even after activating his Silver Eyes of Truth, he couldn’t detect the slightest trace of Gu Feng!

...

As the sky was just beginning to brighten, the summit of Cangxia Mountain was already teeming with a boisterous crowd.

After three chimes of a bell, the Yumu Cave Blessed Land trial selection officially began.

On the Martial Arts Arena’s four platforms, two combatants took their places on each. The Profound Dao Sect’s Shen Jianfeng was on one of them.

Shen Jianfeng touched the Protective Talisman he had placed on his chest and almost burst into tears.

’No wonder that old man said I was facing a bloody disaster...’

’To run into such a strong opponent in the very first match!’

The woman across from him was Xiao Hongyue of the Blood Wing Demon Sect, a Spirit Martial Realm Sixth Heaven Martial Artist!

A female Demon who killed without batting an eye!

And he, Shen Jianfeng, despite cultivating desperately and consuming all sorts of Elixir Pills and Spirit Grass, had only just reached the Spirit Martial Realm Fourth Heaven!

Facing such an enemy, Shen Jianfeng felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Haha, this is going to be good! The Profound Dao Sect is about to be humiliated in the first match!"

"That Shen Jianfeng is so unlucky, running into someone from the Blood Wing Demon Sect in the first round! When a Martial Artist from an ordinary Sect runs into someone from a Spirit Copper Level Demon Path Force, they usually just turn and run!"

The surrounding spectators were delighted.

Although the crowd’s feelings toward the Profound Dao Sect were no longer as hostile as before, Shen Lang—and by extension, the Profound Dao Sect—had stolen all the limelight these past few days.

Seeing someone from the Profound Dao Sect suffer a defeat right off the bat would be quite satisfying for them.

Because of the Profound Dao Sect’s match, the other three platforms weren’t drawing much attention.

Shen Jianfeng looked up at Xiao Hongyue. She was a stunning beauty, dressed in a tight-fitting black robe that accentuated her exquisite figure and gave her a heroic air.

At that moment, Xiao Hongyue was looking at him mockingly, a faint, cold smirk playing on her lips.

’Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. So what if she’s at the Spirit Martial Realm Sixth Heaven? Back when my cousin was still in the Martial Power Realm, he beat me to a pulp... Fighting above one’s level is nothing!’

’I’ve poured my blood and sweat into training for over a year... Forget it, I’d better pin my hopes on the Demon Beast my cousin arranged for me! What rotten luck. I was planning to use it as a trump card in the Yumu Cave Blessed Land, but now I have to reveal it here.’

’No, no, it’s not time for that yet. Calm down, calm down! I still have the High Tier Talismans and Elixir Pills my cousin gave me, and a powerful Profound Artifact! I need to use my head!’

’I absolutely cannot lose this fight! I can’t tarnish my cousin’s prestige or bring him shame!’

Shen Jianfeng’s expression was unsettled as he sweated profusely, desperately trying to think of a strategy.

"Kid, are you going to fight or not? If not, then get the hell down from here, and make it quick!" Xiao Hongyue said with a sneer.

"I hear you’re Shen Lang’s cousin? Tsk, tsk, I really don’t get it. How is that possible? Your cousin is already at the King Martial Realm, yet you’re only at the Spirit Martial Realm Fourth Heaven? You really bring him honor, don’t you!"

"Shen Lang didn’t even show up today. Could it be he was afraid of seeing you get thrashed and felt too embarrassed? Haha!"

"Shut up! You don’t know shit!" Shen Jianfeng lifted his head, gripping the black Long Spear in his hands. "We haven’t even fought yet, so what are you yammering on about?"

"With my cousin’s guidance, I could handle ten or eight women like you by myself!"

"Arrogant, my ass!"

The entire arena fell silent.

Xiao Hongyue’s eyes went wide, and her face began to turn red.

That last sentence from Shen Jianfeng was rather ambiguous... What did he mean by "handle ten or eight"?