Strongest War Emperor

"You are like a fire in the winter, its blazing flames warming my heart. Every time you quietly draw near, the fire’s light illuminates me..."

In the sky, three hundred li east of the Purple Chu Imperial Capital, Lan Mengling strolled leisurely through the air with her hands clasped behind her back.

She was even humming a tune that Shen Lang had once sung.

Combined with her world-stunning beauty and the blazing flames that wreathed her body, it was a sight that no man could look away from.

Lan Mengling, the Saintess of the Demon God Hall, who wielded immense power...

The flickering Vermilion Bird Divine Fire around her could incinerate all, yet Lan Mengling herself had always been as cold and indifferent as ten-thousand-year-old ice.

To think she would reveal such a side of herself. If anyone else had seen it, they probably wouldn’t have believed their eyes.

Lan Mengling was humming her little tune and strolling leisurely when she suddenly frowned and came to a halt.

Her gaze shifted toward the Purple Chu Imperial Capital. High above the capital, an immense and towering momentum surged into the sky, pressing down toward her position.

The clouds churned, and wind and thunder crackled into existence!

"Hmph. That woman, Xue Shiyin, is truly relentless. Does she really think I’m afraid of her?!"

Lan Mengling’s lovely face frosted over as she let out a cold snort.

But as soon as she said this, she hesitated slightly. ’Forget it. My injuries haven’t fully healed yet... And for the sake of your blood ties with Dingdang, I’ll give you some leeway!’

As Lan Mengling spoke, she took a step. As if using Shrinking Inches, that single small step carried her over a hundred li.

’That little rogue is such an oddball. He clearly seems like a childhood sweetheart to Dingdang, and so deeply in love, yet how did he get mixed up with Xue Shiyin?’

Lan Mengling curled her lip. "What a mess..."

The words had barely left her lips when she twisted at the waist, took another step, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

...

At almost the same moment Lan Mengling left with Xue Shiyin in hot pursuit, Shen Lang and his group arrived at the foot of the Imperial City’s walls.

Unexpectedly, before the group could even enter the city, a strange cry echoed from the sky. Dongfang Jian, the Fourth Ancestor of the Profound Dao Sect, plummeted from high above in a wretched state.

With a BANG, he landed in a most graceless heap right in front of Shen Lang.

Stones flew up from the ground, drawing the gazes of the large crowd at the city gate!

Shen Lang glanced over and saw that Dongfang Jian’s clothes were torn in several places.

His hair was a mess, and there was even a long scratch mark, clearly from a fingernail, running down his face. Shen Lang was instantly amused!

’By the looks of it, he was clearly roughed up by a woman.’

"Elder Ancestor, what happened to you? I was already overwhelmed by the favor of you coming to greet me, but now you’re performing a ’grand kowtow’ as well. How can I possibly accept this?"

Shen Lang was probably the only person in the entire Profound Dao Sect who dared to speak to an Elder Ancestor like that.

The others desperately suppressed their laughter, nearly giving themselves internal injuries from the effort.

Dongfang Jian scrambled to his feet. "Xiaolang, run! A group of King Martial Realm experts are trying to kill us!"

"Holy shit, a group?!" Shen Lang subconsciously spun around, ready to bolt.

Dealing with a single King Martial Realm expert like the Third Prince was no problem, but a whole group of them was no joke.

But just as he turned, Shen Lang spun back around. "Well then, you’d better get running. They’re after you, not me. Why should I run?"

Dongfang Jian was dumbfounded. "You... you disloyal brat!"

With that, Dongfang Jian’s figure flickered and vanished into the air.

Qian Luo, having just left the Holy Light Sect, was eager to prove his worth. Seeing an opportunity, he sidled up to Shen Lang and said with an air of absolute loyalty, "My lord, someone is hunting the Elder Ancestor! We must stay here and intercept his pursuers to show them our strength!"

"Intercept... Intercept my ass!" Shen Lang shot back coldly. "You’re so badass, why don’t you go intercept them? You go deal with that group of King Martial Realm experts, how about that?"

Qian Luo’s attempt at flattery had backfired spectacularly. He felt like dying.

According to his understanding of Shen Lang, if anyone dared to cause trouble for his friends or sect members, Shen Lang would absolutely cripple them.

But now, Dongfang Jian, the Fourth Ancestor of the Profound Dao Sect, was being hunted, and Shen Lang was pretending not to see it...

No matter how he thought about it, Qian Luo couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Just as Qian Luo was wracking his brain, angry shouts came from the distance.

Before long, five middle-aged women in varied attire arrived, tearing through the air.

A full five King Martial Realm experts!

And they were all women!

No wonder they had Dongfang Jian running around like a headless chicken...

’Qian Luo couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Ever since meeting Shen Lang, he was running into King Martial Realm experts everywhere. It was as if they were as common and worthless as cabbages.’

The five women in the air didn’t see Dongfang Jian, but they did see three King Martial Realm experts in the crowd below watching them coldly, which made them all pause.

Especially when they noticed that these three King Martial Realm experts were, intentionally or not, standing behind Shen Lang, seemingly treating him as their leader...

They were even more shocked!

The leading woman glanced at Shen Lang in surprise and asked, rather politely, "Young man, did you see an old geezer fleeing this way?"

For a King Martial Realm expert to speak so politely to a Xuanwu Realm Martial Artist was the very height of courtesy.

Shen Lang grinned. "Are you talking about a sleazy-looking old man in ragged clothes?"

Hearing this, the woman’s face immediately showed displeasure.

The displeasure came and went in a flash, but not before Shen Lang caught it.

She gave a slight nod. "That’s right."

Shen Lang didn’t answer her question, asking another instead, "Dare I ask if you are Senior Duanmu Rongrong?"

The women in the air were all startled, looking at their leader in surprise.

The affair between Duanmu Rongrong and Dongfang Jian was known to everyone of the older generation in the Purple Chu Country.

But it was absolutely impossible for the junior members of most sects to know much about it.

Yet Shen Lang had spoken Duanmu Rongrong’s name in a single breath...

Just as Duanmu Rongrong’s face flushed slightly with anger, Shen Lang pointed in the direction Dongfang Jian had fled. "He went that way, just a few minutes ago."

Duanmu Rongrong and her companions were stunned again, finding it even harder to fathom who this young man below could possibly be.

"Thank you," Duanmu Rongrong said with a nod. With a flick of her sleeve, she led the other four in pursuit.

Although an ordinary Xuanwu Realm Martial Artist wouldn’t be worth a second glance to people like them, a person who could have three King Martial Realm experts as followers definitely wielded considerable power.

So, even though Duanmu Rongrong was still suspicious of Shen Lang, she still thanked him politely.

Meanwhile, the group from the Profound Dao Sect and Qian Luo were all stupefied...

It was one thing not to help the Elder Ancestor, but to sell out his escape route?

They simply couldn’t understand it.

The others might not have understood, but Shen Lang knew exactly what he was doing.

Back then, he had set up the Reincarnation Array in the back mountains of the Profound Dao Sect, and unexpectedly, Dongfang Jian had become trapped in the Illusion Array, unable to extricate himself...

At that time, the Second Ancestor, Feng Buping, had told him all about the affair between Dongfang Jian and Duanmu Rongrong.

So he had absolutely no intention of meddling in such matters.

As for what would happen to Dongfang Jian if he were caught...

That old geezer had the Xingtian Battle Armor and several Fifth Grade Profound Artifacts. Even if he couldn’t beat the five of them, he had more than enough to save his own skin.

Besides, Duanmu Rongrong probably wouldn’t really take his life.

Shen Lang watched Duanmu Rongrong’s departing figure, sighed, and said, "Elder Ancestor, this is all I can do to help you... Oh, what is this thing called love, that makes one pledge life and death? Amitabha, well said, well said."

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned peculiar. They were finally beginning to understand a little.

Just then, a group of people suddenly poured out of the West City Gate.

The two in the lead were none other than Yan Qi and Shen Jianfeng, followed by several disciples of the Xiu Hua Sect.

However, the two of them were dressed quite differently than they had been at the Profound Dao Sect.

Yan Qi was fully decked out, looking majestic.

The Jade Belt tied at his waist was especially eye-catching. It was crystal clear, with a green so deep it seemed to seep into one’s very bones. It shimmered with a rosy, auspicious glow, releasing an aura that made one’s entire body feel at ease.

Shen Jianfeng, meanwhile, wore the Krypton Gold Chain Armor and carried the Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear. His momentum was at its peak, not losing out to Yan Qi in the slightest.

The Krypton Gold Chain Armor was made of one hundred and eight linked plates of Krypton Gold. It looked like neither gold nor wood and was engraved with strange patterns of the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, flowers, insects, birds, and beasts.

The two had just emerged from the city gate and were about to greet Shen Lang...

...when the young ladies and wives at the gate shoved and pushed, and with a WHOOSH, swarmed them. They surrounded the two men so tightly not even a drop of water could get through, each one acting more affectionate than if they’d seen their own parents.

’Shen Lang was baffled. When did these two dolts get so popular?’

In a moment, the crowd dispersed. Yan Qi and Shen Jianfeng stood there forlornly. Yan Qi was holding up his pants with both hands, his Jade Belt nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Shen Jianfeng was clutching his Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear tightly, thankful that he was strong enough that no one had managed to snatch it away too.

But as for his Krypton Gold Chain Armor, only the connecting threads remained, swaying back and forth in the wind...

A cold breeze blew past, and the two of them shivered simultaneously.

Then, a sad melody slowly began to play, accompanying the desolate scene as tears streamed down Yan Qi’s and Shen Jianfeng’s faces...

After a long moment, Shen Jianfeng snapped out of it. He wiped away his tears, turned around, and sure enough, he saw the women from the Xiu Hua Sect playing with rapt attention... The tear-jerkingly sad music was indeed their doing.

Ever since Shen Lang had them play accompaniment during his defeat of the Artifact Origin Sect, these women seemed to have developed a love for performing.

From time to time, they would play a tune that was perfectly suited to the occasion.

Shen Jianfeng immediately roared, "Damn it, are you people sick?! Have you no sympathy!"

Over here, Shen Lang couldn’t watch any longer. He walked over with a dark expression and asked, "Didn’t you say you were trapped in your residence and couldn’t get out? It looks to me like you guys are living quite the comfortable life."

Yan Qi hitched up his pants and started to walk over to speak, but he was immediately grabbed on both sides by the women from the Xiu Hua Sect.

The poor guy had both hands occupied with his pants and didn’t dare let go. He could only glare in anger, but the Xiu Hua Sect women completely ignored him.

Shen Jianfeng’s face became a mask of misery. "We really were trapped in the residence... Dingdang came running over, yelling at us that you weren’t dead and had come back. So, Yan Qi and I used an Invisibility Talisman to sneak out, grabbed a few people from the Xiu Hua Sect, and came to the city gate to meet you."

"We never expected..."

"Uh, we need to hurry over there. Old Chu and the others are having a hard time holding on... We couldn’t hold Mo Ge back, and he broke the arms and legs of two guys from the Golden Embryo Sect. Now those bastards aren’t just shouting outside the gate, they’re about to storm in and start a fight!"

"They provoke us every day, thinking we won’t fight back? It never ends! They’re so damn arrogant!"

Shen Lang chuckled. "I didn’t expect things to get this lively before the grand competition has even started."

"Fine. I’ll just add some fuel to the fire and make this scene even livelier!"

A cold glint flashed through Shen Lang’s eyes.

Even a brainless dolt like Yan Qi knew that Shen Lang was preparing to wreak havoc in the Imperial Capital...