Strongest War Emperor

The sun was setting in the west, casting a golden glow over everything in sight.

In a clearing within a bamboo forest on a mountaintop, bamboo leaves drifted down, only to be sliced in two by a casual-looking swing of a sword.

Each swing lacked its usual domineering presence. No Spirit Light shimmered on the blade, nor was any blade aura unleashed.

It looked like a simple, uncomplicated strike. At this moment, Shen Lang was like a novice just beginning to learn Sword Skill.

He simply repeated the dull, monotonous movements, his blade dancing on.

First form, second form, third form... seventh form.

With every form he executed, he was certain to cleave a falling bamboo leaf in half.

Even though Shen Lang had a perfect grasp of the Prison Guardian Blade Technique’s profound mysteries, and even though his mind held insights into various Qimen Saber Techniques, he still practiced like a schoolboy starting from the very basics. He wanted to cultivate every strike, every form, to a state of absolute perfection.

This type of cultivation was purely about comprehending the Realm of Martial Arts.

He was exploring the fundamental rules of the sword.

Each strike controlled his power with unparalleled precision, with not a hint of excess nor the slightest deficiency.

Once he mastered such a Sword Skill, he could cleave through an opponent’s defenses even with a kitchen knife and no blade aura, felling them on the spot from an impossible angle.

Increasing his strength was one of Shen Lang’s goals.

But comprehending the Great Dao of rules was an even greater ambition, especially now that he had the War Emperor’s memories.

...

Gradually, Shen Lang’s Saber Techniques broke free from their constraints. His blade moved faster and faster, his actions light and nimble. He seemed increasingly unrestrained and free, like a butterfly flitting and dancing in the air.

SHING, SHING, SHING...

In an instant, the longsword seemed to gain a soul of its own, slicing through every falling leaf from unthinkable angles.

And so, after hundreds of swings, Shen Lang’s speed, flexibility, and accuracy all reached a state of perfection.

...

For the past three days, Shen Lang had spent the first two absorbing the essence of the morning sun and the evening sunset. At midday, he would draw the Nine Heavens Thunder Power into his body, continuously stabilizing and strengthening the vortex of Thunder Power within him.

He also used the Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique to absorb vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into the Tai Chi Diagram. This was then converted into pure Spiritual Power, raising his cultivation to the Peak of Qi Martial Realm Ninth Heaven.

However, to consolidate his Realm and further increase the strength of his physical body, he eventually stopped converting the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to fill his Pill Sea. Instead, he stored it primarily within the Tai Chi Diagram.

On the final day, he spent half his time on Thunder Power Body Forging and the other half pondering the rules of the Sword Dao.

In less than three days, Shen Lang had undergone a world-shaking transformation...

VMMMM...

With a flick of his wrist, Shen Lang sheathed his longsword. He walked to the edge of the cliff, grabbed a massive vine, and leaped off.

...

In the forest not far below the cliff, a lion with dark-red fur was strolling leisurely.

Having already hunted and eaten its fill, it was quite relaxed, its crimson eyes no longer holding their usual aggression and attack power.

This was a Third Level Demon Beast, a Lion Scorpion, with attack power equivalent to the Third or Fourth Heaven of the Qi Martial Realm.

Its tail was much longer than that of an ordinary lion, and its tip bore a barb that glinted with a multicolored light.

This was the Lion Scorpion’s most fearsome weapon.

Compared to its teeth and claws, the Lion Scorpion’s tail—lightning-fast and highly venomous—was what ordinary Martial Artists truly feared.

Standing on a green boulder, Shen Lang watched the Lion Scorpion slowly approach. He didn’t move until it was less than six meters away.

He leaned forward, bending his right leg. Then, with a sudden, powerful push off the boulder, he shot forward like an arrow!

”ROAR!”

The Lion Scorpion sensed the threat and let out a furious roar. With a flick of its tail, the barb shot toward Shen Lang’s abdomen, letting out a sharp sound of Breaking the Sky.

Shen Lang sidestepped with lightning speed. He threw a simple punch at the Lion Scorpion’s massive head. The fist, wreathed in a ball of Black and White Qi, didn’t create a particularly startling gust of wind.

Yet this simple punch landed squarely on the Lion Scorpion. A faint light flashed, and the Black and White Qi immediately coiled around the beast’s head.

Then, under Shen Lang’s steady gaze, the Lion Scorpion let out a wretched scream. Its head began to corrode at a visible rate, the effect spreading over its entire body before it could even resist...

In less than ten seconds, the Lion Scorpion’s massive body was reduced to a pile of bones. It was dead.

Even the Demon Crystal inside the Demon Beast was absorbed completely, leaving not a trace of its blood qi or Demon Power!

Shen Lang immediately closed his eyes and entered the space within the Tai Chi Diagram. He saw a stream of blood-red Energy, which had just been absorbed, darting about inside like a meteor.

Then, a small portion of the blood-red Energy naturally split off and nourished the tiny seed at the center of the space. The rest immediately dissipated into the air.

The blood qi and Demon Crystal of a Third Level Demon Beast were equivalent to the Spiritual Power of a Qi Martial Realm Fourth Heaven Martial Artist. However, inside the space of the Tai Chi Diagram, it was but a drop in the ocean, a fleeting moment.

With a thought, Shen Lang re-gathered the dissipated blood-red Energy, forming it into a perfect sphere that landed in his palm.

After only a few seconds of Refinement by the Tai Chi Diagram, the crystalline, blood-red Energy had already faded considerably, becoming purer and purer.

By now, Shen Lang had already mastered the Tai Chi Diagram. Here, he was like a Creator God; with a single thought, he could command the vast Energy of this place for his own use.

But after a few changes in his expression, he finally thrust his right palm forward, sending the sphere of Energy onto the seed.

The tiny seed hadn’t even truly sprouted yet, but it strangely emitted a flicker of joyful emotion as it instantly absorbed the Energy.

’I knew it. How could the Energy I just absorbed automatically split off a portion without my control? So the seed is already starting to absorb Energy on its own.’

Shen Lang sighed inwardly.

He had great expectations for this seed, looking forward to the day it would grow into a great, towering tree.

He had equally high hopes for the space within the Tai Chi Diagram, anticipating that it would change once it had sufficient Energy.

But truth be told, even now, his understanding of everything within it was still hazy and unclear.

He had no idea what changes would occur or what benefits it would bring him once the seed grew into a towering tree.

Even after searching through all the War Emperor’s memories, he could find no record or rumor of anything like it.

This didn’t seem like something that could possibly exist in the Human Realm!

As for the Tai Chi Diagram itself, he did know a little... It absorbed the chaotic Primordial Qi of the world, converted it into pure Energy for him to use, and simultaneously strengthened itself in the process.

It was that simple.

After destroying the hand of the figure in the black cloak and now devouring a Demon Beast, Shen Lang’s understanding of the Tai Chi Diagram had deepened.

If things continued this way, by constantly absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and devouring these Demon Beasts, the Tai Chi Diagram would grow larger. The distance it could travel from his body would increase, and its attack power would become even stronger...

This was a terrifying object that even a War Emperor at the peak of the Human Realm had never witnessed before!

”Hahaha!”

Shen Lang exited the space within the Tai Chi Diagram and burst into wild laughter.

He then pressed deeper into the Madness Mountain Range, using the Tai Chi Diagram to slay Demon Beast after Demon Beast along the way.

A Second Level Demon Beast, the Ice Wind Wolf...

A Third Level Demon Beast, the Golden Scale Python...

A Fourth Level Demon Beast, the Hellhound...

The terrifying power of the Tai Chi Diagram was on full display that night!