Strongest War Emperor

You have to know your audience.

The Evil Eye Lord was insidious and cunning to the extreme, ranked sixth among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts. Shen Lang had no intention of wasting time negotiating with it, so he got straight to the point.

The more intelligent a creature like this was, the better it understood its own predicament—and the more it feared death.

Demon Beasts were naturally malevolent and vicious. Many didn’t even fear death... or perhaps didn’t even understand what death was.

But a mutated, evolved Demon Beast like the Evil Eye Lord possessed a high degree of Spiritual Wisdom. It lacked the frenzied aura typical of most Demon Beasts, displaying more human-like traits instead.

He would weigh the pros and cons, he would fear death, and he would experience many emotions typically only found in humans.

If any other Demon Beast had been trapped by Shen Lang, it would have undoubtedly roared and thrashed about, trying to charge its way out.

However, while the Evil Eye Lord was panicked, he was comparatively much more composed.

He understood his predicament perfectly and knew that struggling was useless...

That single, soft cry from Zuo Wentian had already scared him out of his wits.

Comparatively, the terror inspired by the King Martial Realm Desolate Domain Demon Ape was nothing next to the sheer shock Zuo Wentian had dealt him.

The Evil Eye Lord, whose Divine Thought was powerful enough for his Spiritual Power to control thousands of Demon Beasts, understood... Before a Divine Thought so vast and unfathomable it could sweep away armies and stand against ten thousand foes, a being like him was as insignificant as an ant!

If that entity wished it, a single thought was all it would take to annihilate him completely!

He didn’t understand why this human youth possessed such a tyrannical power within his Sea of Consciousness, nor why he was traveling with a King Martial Realm Desolate Domain Demon Ape.

But one thing was crystal clear to him: opposing a person like this was absolutely not something an intelligent being like himself should ever do.

After hearing Shen Lang’s threat-laden words, the Evil Eye Lord fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Respected powerhouse, I, Ling Xie, am willing to follow your instructions. Please, ask any questions you may have. I am listening with utmost attention."

Shen Lang seemed quite satisfied with Ling Xie’s attitude. He frowned, glanced at the scene below, and said, "Elder Ape, make those Demon Beasts quiet down. Their racket is driving me crazy."

"Yes, sir," Yuan Bupu replied respectfully.

Immediately, the Desolate Domain Demon Ape unleashed its incomparably ferocious aura.

The immense Divine Thought of a King Martial Realm Second Heaven expert, combined with the dominant aura of a superior Fierce Beast like the Desolate Domain Demon Ape, billowed out and instantly enveloped the entire Dust Wind Canyon.

Inside Dust Wind Canyon, the horde of Demon Beasts had already slipped from the Evil Eye Lord’s control and fallen into a frenzy. Now, they were suddenly seized by terror, and every last one of them dropped to the ground, prostrating and trembling violently.

They lay on the ground, letting out soft whimpers, their eyes filled with utter terror.

Yet not a single Demon Beast dared to stand up and flee...

The Desolate Domain Demon Ape couldn’t control these Demon Beasts the way the Evil Eye Lord could, but intimidating them into submission with its powerful aura was a simple task.

Only then did Shen Lang speak. "First question. With your power, you can control thousands of rampaging Demon Beasts. Controlling a few dozen mercenaries should be no trouble at all. Why go through the hassle of using a horde of beasts to attack them?"

"Among the fifteen Xuanwu Realm cultivators, at most three to five of them could have resisted your Spiritual Attack. The others wouldn’t have stood a chance, even with Defensive Spiritual Artifacts. So, why did you do it?"

Nalan Ziyun had a sudden realization and exclaimed, "Aha! No wonder I felt like something was off! This guy can control Seventh to Eighth Level Demon Beasts, so why couldn’t he control a group of Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists? Why go to the trouble of using a beast horde to attack them? Something fishy is definitely going on!"

"Exactly! The Boss Lady is so clever!" Bone Two chimed in, not missing the chance to flatter her.

Shen Lang shot her a speechless look. Nalan Ziyun’s face flushed, and she let out a soft cough, quickly looking away as if admiring the scenery.

After a long pause, the Evil Eye Lord’s voice echoed once more. "I... I come from the Abyss. It is a place of endless darkness, with few living things and no future in sight. For an intelligent being such as myself, it was utterly unbearable."

"The Supreme Yin Qi drew me out of the Abyss. This vibrant, magnificent, and complex world outside... this is what I truly wanted."

"As I sat in the Abyss, gazing into the endless dark, my heart felt lonely and desolate. I felt as if my life force was being stripped away, leaving me an empty shell. I didn’t know what lay at the end of that darkness, or how long it would last... Unlike other creatures, I was not content to live in a stupor. I was terrified of living on like that, of simply withering away."

"To me, that is a fate more terrifying than death."

"I often questioned... if my very existence was logical. I began to suspect that my life was merely an illusion..."

"Get to the point!" Shen Lang cut him off, rolling his eyes.

’A Demon Beast with the soul of a poet, waxing philosophical about life right in front of me... Could anything be more absurd?’

’If I can manage to subdue this guy, I could introduce him to Chu Qingcheng. They’d probably become great friends.’

The Evil Eye Lord sighed. "Respected human powerhouse, I know this must sound incredible to you, but I am telling the truth. I want to live a brilliant, interesting life... I came to the surface world—a world I learned about from the memories of countless beings I’ve controlled. I found these humans, and... I was so overjoyed that I decided to play a game with them. A very interesting game. That’s all there is to it."

"If I hadn’t been enjoying this game so much, everyone you see here, save for three of them, would have already become food for the Demon Beasts."

"Killing is not my goal. It’s just a game. I look down on the methods used by other Demon Beasts. I crave a life of interest. I want to make everything I do interesting. It’s as simple as that. That is my answer for you."

Nalan Ziyun’s eyes widened even further. She glanced down at the tentacle monster, then back at Shen Lang, thinking she must have misheard.

’What the hell? Did we just run into the Shakespeare of Demon Beasts?’

’Or is this just Chu Qingcheng in disguise, playing some kind of colossal prank on us?’

’That tone, those ideas... he’s a carbon copy of Chu Qingcheng!’

’We’re doomed. One Chu Qingcheng is already more than the entire Profound Dao Sect can handle. If there’s another one... the world is definitely doomed to chaos... ’

Shen Lang clicked his tongue, a strange expression on his face. "Second question. How long has the great rift in the Desolate Land been open, and what’s the situation like around it?"

The Evil Eye Lord was delighted that Shen Lang had accepted his first answer—a fact Nalan Ziyun could sense from the fluctuations in his spiritual presence.

"The Earth Rift in the Desolate Land appeared three months and eight days ago. Endless Supreme Yin Qi has been surging out from it, covering the entire Desolate Land in just a single month."

The Evil Eye Lord continued, "This Supreme Yin Qi is the most yin, most evil Energy between Heaven and Earth, and it’s perfect for all sorts of Dark Attribute creatures. Other beings are greatly affected by this environment, especially Demon Beasts below the Sixth Level. Their very Spiritual Wisdom is eroded, causing them to become irritable, frenzied, and bloodthirsty."

"A little over a month after the rift appeared, a powerful human Sect called the Imperial Dragon Sect sent their experts to set up a Grand Array and Seal the rift. However, this Seal can’t completely stop the Supreme Yin Qi from emerging; a considerable amount is still leaking out."

"Many Demon Beasts and Demons from outside the Desolate Land have been drawn by this Supreme Yin Qi and have flocked to the area."

"Because they discovered these mutated Demon Beasts were frenzied and extremely aggressive, the Imperial Dragon Sect and other Sects dispatched many disciples to the Desolate Land to exterminate the Demon Beasts and clear out the Demons. They also established a perimeter... If you look, you’ll notice the stench of blood wafting from the northwest, where the rift is, is far thicker than it is here."

"However, I fear this Seal won’t last much longer. From deep underground, I can sense a Dark Power stirring restlessly. It’s highly likely to break that Seal in the near future, allowing the Supreme Yin Qi to gush out from the rift once more."

"For most beings, the Supreme Yin Qi is a catastrophe, but for Dark Creatures, it is an opportunity..."

Having said its piece, the Evil Eye Lord waited quietly for Shen Lang’s reaction.

"A Dark Power wants to break the Seal?" Shen Lang asked coldly. "Do you have any specifics?"

The Evil Eye Lord was silent for a moment before replying, "In the Hidden Moon Tomb, about three hundred li from the rift, a group of Zombies that have slumbered for countless years has been awakened by the Supreme Yin Qi. They are now gathering their strength and could destroy the Seal at any moment. And those human experts are completely oblivious."

Shen Lang rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "A horde of Zombies? This could be trouble..."

Nalan Ziyun finally couldn’t hold back any longer. "What exactly is this Supreme Yin Qi? You were frowning the whole time you were dissecting that Demon Beast earlier. Is the situation really that serious?"

Shen Lang nodded. "There are countless types of Energy in the world. There’s pure Spiritual Qi, the Supreme Yang and Firmness of Thunder Power, Death Qi, Killing Intent... Broadly speaking, they can all be divided into two categories: Yin and Yang, or Light and Dark."

"All things are fundamentally one. There is Yang concealed within Yin, and when Yin reaches its extreme, Yang emerges. This is the nature of balance."

"The Great Ultimate moves and gives birth to Yang. When movement reaches its extreme, it becomes still. Stillness gives birth to Yin. When stillness reaches its extreme, there is a return to movement. One movement, one stillness; each is the root of the other. Divided into Yin and Yang, these two forces interact, giving birth to all of creation..."

"When the Nine-Star Linked Pearls align, Supreme Yin Qi will erupt from the ground and blanket the world. The world will lose its balance, the Rules of Heaven and Earth will be shattered, order will vanish, and peace will be a thing of the past. The entire world will descend into chaos."

"When heaven and earth are turned upside down and Yin and Yang are thrown into chaos, creation will begin to wither, leaving only destruction in its wake."

"The emergence of the Evil Dao’s great figure, the Blood Ancestor, is just the first major event to accompany this imbalance of Yin and Yang. Compared to what’s coming, the Blood Ancestor is merely a footnote. This grand, inexorable trend of the world marching toward destruction is what is truly terrifying..."

Nalan Ziyun hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "Are you saying... there’s really no hope? You mean... even if the Blood Ancestor hadn’t emerged, the world would have been destroyed soon anyway?"

"It’s not guaranteed to be destroyed," Shen Lang mused. "The Great Dao has fifty aspects, and the heavens only use forty-nine. The Celestial Dao is incomplete, leaving one sliver of hope. Perhaps the legendary Emperor Star can change all this... That’s why I came here—to investigate these things."

After a deep sigh, Shen Lang turned his attention back to the Evil Eye Lord below. "Third question: How about you submit to me?"

This was the most important question.

The Evil Eye Lord knew this question was coming, but he never expected Shen Lang to be so blunt.

For the Evil Eye Lord, who held himself in such high regard, this feeling of being slighted was an unbearable humiliation.

’I lived in darkness for thousands of years, and the moment I finally emerge, before I’ve even finished my first game, I’m supposed to let someone subjugate me?’

’I’m supposed to become his pet?’

’You humans count me among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts! Is that title just an empty boast?!’

After a long silence, the Evil Eye Lord finally spoke. "Respected human powerhouse, the expert at your side is so powerful my very soul trembles in his presence. Killing me would be as easy for you as flipping your hand. But that does not mean I must submit to you. I have my own dignity and my own aspirations..."

"I need to live a brilliant, interesting life, not walk out of one darkness only to step into another."

"Give me liberty, or give me death!"