Strongest War Emperor

”SCREECH!”

A few of the enormous Demon Beasts in the sky shrieked and immediately fled.

These were some of the most powerful Demon Beasts in the horde, ones with high enough Spiritual Wisdom to retain a sliver of control amidst the bloodthirsty chaos.

They sensed a mortal threat and almost instinctively chose to run.

But the vast majority of the Demon Beasts continued to circle in the sky. Many of them, with blood-red eyes, charged fearlessly down toward the group below!

”You’re courting death!”

Shen Lang snorted. He focused his full attention, his Spiritual Power mixing with Thunder Power and circulating wildly within him.

”RUMBLE!”

The sound of exploding thunder suddenly boomed from within his very ribcage. The violent Thunder Power in the vortex surged forth like a river breaking through a dam.

”CRACK!”

Amidst the colossal sound, thunder boomed from within Shen Lang’s body, echoing the ceaseless cracks of lightning from high above the nine heavens.

The searing bolt of lightning, originally just over a meter in diameter, instantly swelled to more than double its size, descending like a great dragon.

”CRACK!”

Another earth-shattering peal of thunder rang out.

”Second Miss, he’s... he’s...”

Luo Ya cried out, her jade-white hand covering her lips as she watched in utter disbelief.

The others were in no better state. They all stared fixedly at Shen Lang, rendered speechless.

Although the Second Miss had said Shen Lang was preparing a powerful attack, how could this be called a mere powerful attack? This was controlling the Nine Heavens Thunderbolt!

An ordinary Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist who practiced a Thunder Element Technique could, at best, use a tiny amount of Thunder Power to temper their meridians and forge their body. Even if they could condense one or two Thunder Dragons from their internal Thunder Power, the energy contained within would be extremely limited.

No matter how powerful they were, they could never control the Thunder Power from beyond the nine heavens!

How could a scene of such world-ending devastation be the work of a Martial Artist who had just broken through to the Spirit Martial Realm?

How could a Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist possibly control the Power of Heaven and Earth?

Moreover, with such incomparably violent Thunder Power, a single misstep could lead to eternal damnation!

Celestial Pillar Peak was only so big. If he lost control of this Thunder Power for even a moment, not a single one of them would escape!

They wouldn’t even need the Demon Beasts above to make a move... or rather, lift a claw!

”He wants to draw upon the Thunder Power of heaven and earth, using it to eliminate all the Demon Beasts in the sky... It’s truly... truly...”

Xu Lianyou gave Shen Lang a deep look, her throat dry. She too had never imagined Shen Lang would attempt something so insane.

It would be impossible to do this without immense strength, impeccable control over that strength, or a flawless Cultivation Technique.

The risk was simply too great. Even if a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse who practiced a Thunder Element Technique tried this, the chances of success would be extremely low.

One misstep, and they would be doomed forever, reduced to ashes!

’I can’t believe he actually dared to do something like this!’

”He’s insane! This kid is absolutely insane! Damn it, if I’d known he was this crazy, I would’ve... I would’ve...” Xia Yu’s face was a mask of terror. He repeated ”I would’ve” but couldn’t finish the sentence.

It was unclear whether he meant ’I would’ve never provoked him’ or ’I would’ve never come with him’...

Among the group, only Shui Qingwu remained relatively calm. Her gaze had been fixed on Shen Lang for most of the time, barely moving.

”Time’s up. You were given a chance and you didn’t take it! Then you can all just die!”

”The Nine Heavens Thunderbolt is mine to command! Atop Celestial Pillar Peak, I am the summit! Across the Star Continent, I reign supreme! Come!”

Shen Lang let out a soft cry, his hands raised as if to hold up the sky. A massive vortex of Thunder Power between his palms connected completely with the Nine Heavens Thunderbolt, and the lightning filling the sky grew even more wild and ferocious.

The massive pillar of lightning, once a bare, constantly twisting Demon Dragon, began to sprout branches and leaves with incredible speed, like the trunk of a great tree.

Thick, long, and savage bolts of lightning raged like wild dragons. Accompanied by earth-shattering thunder, this corner of the world became a Purgatory of lightning.

In the sky, hundreds, even thousands of searing, waist-thick bolts of lightning twisted violently like hundreds of thick electric dragons, forming a net across the heavens.

The sound of thunder, seeming to shatter heaven and earth, echoed ceaselessly above Celestial Pillar Peak.

What was even more terrifying was that the dark clouds high in the nine heavens had become the canopy of this great tree. Bolts of lightning crisscrossed and flashed, descending like a giant net upon the swarm of Demon Beasts that blotted out the sky.

The thunder and lightning from beyond the nine heavens could destroy the world and purge all evil in existence!

At this moment, even if the Demon Beasts in the sky wanted to flee, what chance did they have?

The unending roar of thunder and the shrieks of ten thousand Demon Beasts were enough to drive anyone mad!

The terrifying Celestial Might made everyone turn pale with horror, so frightened that their very souls trembled.

Countless Demon Beast corpses rained down, thudding against the ground and making the entire scene feel unreal...

’This guy... he really is full of secrets...’ Shui Qingwu thought, glancing coquettishly at Shen Lang. The image of the mysterious man in the Evil Ghost Mask appeared in her mind, and his figure slowly overlapped with Shen Lang’s.

***

In truth, this world-ending scene didn’t last very long—ten minutes at most.

But to the onlookers, it felt like a decade, or even a century, had passed. They all stood there, paralyzed with terror, not daring to move an inch as they watched.

”Come on, snap out of it! You want to be buried alive by Demon Beast corpses? Start collecting them!”

Seeing them standing there dumbfounded, Shen Lang, who was struggling to control the Thunder Power with all his might, snapped irritably.

”Ah!”

The group was jolted back to reality. With a cheer, they started collecting the fallen Demon Beast corpses.

A flash of white light, and a large swathe of Demon Beast corpses on the ground would be sucked into a Sumeru Ring. The five from the Twin Dragon Sect and Shui Qingwu all got to work, bustling with activity.

Ten minutes had been enough. The sky above Celestial Pillar Peak had been swept clean of Demon Beasts by the tyrannical Nine Heavens Thunder Power. Only a few lucky ones had managed to escape at the last second, and the clear sky was finally revealed once more.

Everyone immediately burst into cheers.

However, Shen Lang, who had been so majestic moments before, did not share their joy. He remained seated cross-legged on the ground, struggling to control the violent and chaotic Thunder Power inside his body.

His eyes were shut tight, his face contorted in pain. Electric serpents coiled around his body, crackling audibly.

”Xiaolang, are you all right?” Shui Qingwu cried out in alarm.

Beside her, Xu Lianyou quickly grabbed her arm. ”Elder Sister, he was controlling the Nine Heavens Thunder Power. The Thunder Power in his body is likely running wild and is difficult to control right now. Outsiders absolutely cannot touch him. We should stand guard and act as his Protectors.”

Shui Qingwu glanced at her worriedly and gave a slight nod. ”Mm.”

”All of you... get back to the bridgehead! Don’t come near me! Quickly!” Shen Lang suddenly shouted, as if desperately trying to suppress something from bursting out of his body.

Startled, the group immediately scrambled back, putting some distance between themselves and him.

”BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

A violent roar of thunder erupted from within Shen Lang’s body. Immediately after, a terrifying aura radiated from him, causing the others to look at each other, their faces drained of color.

”ROAR!”

An incomparably ferocious wave of Thunder Power spread out from Shen Lang, instantly coalescing into four massive Thunder Dragons that coiled and circled around him, roaring ceaselessly!

Shen Lang chopped with his palms and made grappling motions with his hands. He moved away from the group, constantly maneuvering against the four enormous Thunder Dragons.

For a moment, thunder raged, winds howled, and sand and stones flew through the air.

”BOOM!”

The stone pillars around Shen Lang were shattered one after another by the massive Thunder Dragons, sending a shower of rock fragments flying like sparks.

The man and the Thunder Dragons were locked in a fierce, inextricable battle!

”Xiaolang, those Thunder Dragons are formed from the core energy of the Nine Heavens Thunder Power—the Supreme Yang and Firmness! Not even Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses can absorb it! Let it go! If it fully enters your body and you can’t control it, you’ll explode!” Shui Qingwu shrieked.

”THUMP!”

The young man from the Twin Dragon Sect, Cong Lin, and Luo Ya both fell to the ground, landing hard on their rears!

Xu Lianyou and Uncle Zhong also exchanged glances, their faces changing color in utter disbelief.

’Was Shen Lang actually trying to forcibly devour the Nine Heavens Thunder Power that had accumulated inside him? This is insane...’

Controlling the Nine Heavens Thunder Power before was, at best, a struggle, and it was fraught with peril.

Now that it was over, he was still entertaining such an idea?

’He’s trying to scare us to death!’

If he lost control, in a place this small, there would be nowhere to hide. Wouldn’t they all be toast?

”Bro, can you please stop messing around? I’m not a brave man! You’ve had my poor heart pounding this whole time... It’s all over now, so can you please stop scaring us?” Xia Yu said, his whole body trembling, his voice on the verge of tears.

It wasn’t that Xia Yu was particularly cowardly; the others weren’t in much better shape. They had simply had enough of this journey.

First, they were surrounded by a wolf pack and facing death. Then Shen Lang appeared, giving him hope. But what happened next? A Sixth Level Wolf King showed up.

After they drove off the Wolf King, just when he thought they had escaped, a damn Beast Tide arrived!

Finally, after running for their lives to get to Celestial Pillar Peak, Shen Lang destroyed the bridge, trapping them all here.

Then, after this guy finally managed to control the Nine Heavens Thunder Power and killed all the Demon Beasts with a world-ending, Celestial Tribulation-like storm, they could finally catch their breath for a moment, right? Nope! He had to go and mess with the Thunder Dragons!

These ups and downs... no normal person could take it!

’From the fight with the Wolf King to getting to Celestial Pillar Peak, you’ve been pulling one shocking stunt after another this entire time! It wouldn’t kill you to just chill out for a bit!’

’So I, Xia Yu, pointed my sword at you for a moment! The heavens have already punished me for it, but you just won’t let it go...’

”BANG! BANG! BANG!”

As the four Thunder Dragons thrashed about, surrounding rocks were blasted outwards. Many of them shot through the air with a sky-breaking sound, smashing against the protective barrier of light around Shui Qingwu and the others, causing it to shake violently.