Strongest War Emperor

Tian Hao wasn’t the only one who had fainted from the shock.

Even Su Wenxuan and Wang Dashu, standing behind Shen Lang, felt a bit overwhelmed.

A dense, writhing horde of Demon Beasts had suddenly materialized in the courtyard. It was enough to scare a person to death!

What was even more terrifying wasn’t the horde of Demon Beasts...

It was the towering zombie, easily two zhang tall, that had appeared in the very center of the courtyard!

The moment it appeared, the zombie looked down imperiously at the Demon Beasts below. With a light stomp of its right foot, it sent a huge crowd of them tumbling.

Billowing Corpse Qi swept across the entire courtyard.

All the Demon Beasts immediately started whimpering, dropping to the ground, not daring to move a muscle!

Enveloped by this vast and boundless wave of Corpse Qi, Su Wenxuan and Wang Dashu felt a chilling terror that made it hard to breathe.

If they hadn’t been somewhat mentally prepared, and if they hadn’t already met the more powerful and imposing Zombie Emperor Duanmu Xie...

Su Wenxuan and Wang Dashu probably would have forgotten their statuses as Sect Leader and Peak Master of Songdu Peak and simply bolted.

"Reign in your Corpse Qi. Who told you to make such a mess? Just stand there and don’t move. All you need to do is keep these Demon Beasts in line!" Shen Lang snapped.

Duanmu Zheng, who had just been exuding an arrogant and glacial Killing Intent, immediately became subservient, bowing and scraping as he withdrew every wisp of Corpse Qi from the courtyard.

Shen Lang then waved to the Evil Eye Lord, who was standing stiffly like a wooden post. "Come over here. Handle this matter properly, and I’ll choose to forget what happened last time. Otherwise... Heh heh!"

Shen Lang was referring to the incident after he’d been taken by Lan Mengling, when the Evil Eye Lord had tried to lead Nalan Ziyun astray.

The Evil Eye Lord, thinking Shen Lang was a dead man, had planned to betray him and had even tried to persuade Nalan Ziyun to leave with him.

This had infuriated Zuo Wentian, who lopped off a section of all the Lord’s tentacles with a single slash of his blade.

Later, when Shen Lang arrived, he had thrown the creature out and had Yin Qianshang use the Thunder Control Divine Technique to beat him to within an inch of his life.

Now, the Evil Eye Lord was like a piece of rotten wood, completely demoralized and with its Primordial Qi severely depleted.

The Evil Eye Lord had been trembling at the sight of the zombie, Duanmu Zheng. But when Shen Lang finally spoke to him, he quickly pulled himself together, contracted his body, and came wobbling over, pushing aside Demon Beasts as he went.

"Oh, my esteemed boss! How may I be of service to you?"

All thoughts of disloyalty had vanished from the Evil Eye Lord’s mind; he was now as docile as a kitten.

He didn’t dare to be anything but.

Even as one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, the Evil Eye Lord knew how to recognize a superior power.

There were far too many formidable beings like the Zombie Emperor Duanmu Xie around Shen Lang now. Crushing the Lord would be trivially easy for them.

If he didn’t toe the line, he might just vanish like smoke before he even got a chance to properly see this wonderful new world.

Shen Lang pointed to the Evil Eye Lord and Duanmu Zheng, then said to Su Wenxuan, "Gather all the disciples from the Five Sects who are participating in the great competition. First, have them choose the most suitable Demon Beast. Then, have the Evil Eye Lord help them form a Soul Contract."

"One beast per person, maximum. The Evil Eye Lord will help, but in return, we must make a solemn vow and have everyone treat these Demon Beasts as partners and brothers... If, after receiving Elixir Pills, equipment upgrades, powerful Cultivation Techniques, and now an extra, formidable Demon Beast, they still die in the Yumu Cave Blessed Land—then that is simply their fate."

Su Wenxuan and Wang Dashu were completely stunned.

To be honest, they had never even conceived of such a thing.

Using the powerful Zombie King Duanmu Zheng to suppress this horde of Demon Beasts, then having the Evil Eye Lord—one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts—control them with a mix of threats and enticements... Forget Fifth to Sixth Level Demon Beasts, even Seventh to Eighth Level ones, equivalent to the Xuanwu Realm, would be easily subdued!

With the initial taming taken care of, and with the Profound Dao Sect and the other sects having developed fifteen ore veins, they could actually afford to support such an army of Demon Beasts!

In an instant, this would more than double the strength of this group of disciples!

"Men!" Su Wenxuan bellowed.

A figure shot out of the pavilion like lightning and stopped in the air above the courtyard.

It was Lin Bucai, the Peak Master of Shao Hufeng, the very one Shen Lang had beaten up the mountain and severely wounded.

That Lin Bucai had obviously been paying attention to the situation here from the pavilion for a while. He stopped in mid-air and gave Shen Lang a complicated look.

Then, Lin Bucai gave Su Wenxuan a slight bow and said, "Sect Leader, what are your orders?"

Su Wenxuan waved his hand grandly. "Junior Brother Lin, immediately summon the Sect Leaders and Elders of the other sects! Then, have them gather all their visiting disciples right here!"

"Understood! I’ll go at once!" With that, Lin Bucai’s figure flickered and he was already flying out of the courtyard.

Just then, Shen Lang beckoned to Xia Yu, who had been watching from the sidelines, completely stunned. "Let’s go find the Crown Prince now."

...

The Eastern Palace of the Imperial City was a place of magnificent architecture, with upturned eaves, tiled roofs, and ornate windows.

Its master, the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, Tantai Xuanmo, was a man of dignified and imposing bearing, with a cultivation at the Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven.

Within the Imperial Capital’s Imperial City, he was considered a dominant and influential figure.

At this moment, however, the Crown Prince did not seem to be in a good mood.

He paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him. Behind him stood a group of people, none of whom dared to even breathe too loudly. Some were already wiping sweat from their brows.

Clearly, the pressure on every one of them was immense.

CRASH!

Tantai Xuanmo’s face was savage. With a sweep of his arm, he sent the ink brushes and other objects on his desk crashing to the floor.

The people in the hall fell even more silent, fear and worry deepening in their eyes.

"Can someone tell me? Why has my Third Brother become so powerful? How is it that after just a short time, he’s reached the King Martial Realm?!"

Tantai Xuanmo roared like a ferocious beast.

The men standing behind him were a mix of scholarly advisors and powerful Martial Artists with formidable auras.

But not a single person dared to speak.

The matter of the Third Prince’s Cultivation was simply too bizarre.

Just one year ago, the Third Prince’s cultivation was a notch below the Crown Prince’s.

Furthermore, the Third Prince had never seemed to care for the power struggles of the court; he had always been rather indifferent.

Who could have known that after a short trip away, the Third Prince would return completely changed, and begin to openly vie for power against the Crown Prince!

Worst of all, no one on the Crown Prince’s side had any idea the Third Prince had reached the King Martial Realm!

If Shen Lang of the Profound Dao Sect hadn’t forced the Third Prince to reveal his King Martial Realm Cultivation, the Crown Prince and his followers would still be completely in the dark!

At that moment, a cautious, long-bearded old man spoke up. "The Third Prince’s situation is truly inconceivable... I have never heard of anything in this world that can raise a person from the Xuanwu Realm Early Stage to the King Martial Realm in a single year!"

"Moreover, his temperament has changed so drastically, it’s as if he’s a different person. I suspect..."

Tantai Xuanmo spun around. "Teacher Xu, are you suggesting my current Third Brother is an imposter? That some old monster has possessed him?"

"No, no. I’ve considered that possibility, but the more I think on it, the more unlikely it seems."

"When Shen Lang clashed with our Third Brother, the Elder Ancestor himself made an appearance..."

"If even we can spot something amiss, how could the Elder Ancestor miss it? When our Third Brother returned to the Imperial Capital, the Elder Ancestor must have already been aware of his cultivation level and surely would have inspected and verified him... Otherwise, he would never have been allowed to live this long."

"Your Highness speaks the truth." The man known as Teacher Xu hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

Tantai Xuanmo paced a few more steps in agitation. "But the possibility Teacher Xu mentioned still exists..."

"Forget our Purple Chu Country—even in the Snow Domain or the Western Wilderness, no one has ever heard of a method to turn someone from the Xuanwu Realm Initial Tier into a King Martial Realm powerhouse! No such person exists, and no such Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures have ever been found!"

Teacher Xu’s brow was deeply furrowed. "We must find a breakthrough on this point... Otherwise, if no one can find an opening and prove there’s something wrong with him, the Crown Prince’s position will become completely untenable! I fear..."

He did not finish his sentence.

But everyone understood.

If they couldn’t find any proof that something was wrong with the Third Prince, then a person with such immense fortune—or perhaps, such supreme talent—would very likely supplant the Crown Prince and become the new heir to the Royal Family of Purple Chu Country!

With the Third Prince’s current cultivation, the Crown Prince, at only the Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven, was no longer in the same league.

In a direct conflict, the Crown Prince would be at a complete and utter disadvantage!

Tantai Xuanmo slumped into his chair, looking utterly defeated. He seemed to have aged several years in an instant.

The feeling of having power snatched from his grasp was absolutely terrible.

More importantly, power struggles within the Royal Family were always life-or-death affairs. Once you failed, the chances of survival were slim to none.

Tantai Xuanmo held no hope that the old ancestors would protect him.

It wasn’t just the Royal Family; the other Noble Families were all the same...

If you had the strength and the talent, you were unstoppable.

Without that strength, even if the Third Prince did kill him, some people might be angry for a day or two, but no one would actually pursue the matter.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the great hall became utterly grim and oppressive...

Just then, someone suddenly spoke up. "The enemy of our enemy is our friend. The Third Prince has offended Shen Lang. If we could form a connection with him..."

A flicker of hope ignited, and Tantai Xuanmo abruptly lifted his head.

But just as quickly, the light in his eyes dimmed again. "Easier said than done. This Shen Lang is a complete unknown, as if he appeared out of thin air... More importantly, he is simply too formidable—he has immense personal strength and a powerful background. If I were to approach him... it’s questionable whether he would even give me the time of day."

"Heh..." Tantai Xuanmo let out a bitter laugh. "He dares to strike a King Martial Realm expert like my Third Brother, and even forced him to slap his own face. His underlings are King Martial Realm experts themselves. Master of Chaos from the Ruyi Buddha Sect calls him ’Senior Brother.’ He travels with the legendary Zombie Emperor Duanmu Xie. And he’s backed by two Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm Powerhouses..."

"To put it bluntly, in the eyes of someone like that, what is a mere Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of Purple Chu?"

A bitter smile twisted Tantai Xuanmo’s lips as he spoke.

Just then, a military general hurried in from outside the hall.

"Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, Shen Lang of the Profound Dao Sect requests an audience!"

In an instant, every single head in the hall snapped around...

—————————— The second Chapter for today will be released during the daytime. No need for everyone to wait up.