Strongest War Emperor

In the marsh, fifteen Martial Artists were locked in a fierce battle with a pack of Lightning Crocodiles. Most of them were at the Third and Fourth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm, with the strongest only at the Fifth Heaven. For the Sorrow Swamp, a team of this strength wasn’t particularly remarkable. However, the sight of fifteen experts at the Spirit Martial Realm all attacking at once was still a terrifying spectacle.

Furthermore, these Martial Artists seemed to have undergone rigorous training. They came from the same faction, and their coordination was flawless.

The men formed the front line while the women were in the rear, covering one another to create a seamless unit of offense and defense.

Although it appeared as if fifteen people were striking simultaneously, the Spiritual Power they emitted rippled out in perfect unison, showing no signs of chaos.

Even when facing danger, their eyes betrayed no emotion, not a single trace of panic.

This was a level of discipline far beyond that of any ordinary Mercenary Corps.

They seemed more like a secret elite squad trained by a major power.

Their enemies were a pack of Lightning Crocodiles, along with an enormous and exceptionally ferocious Seven-Star Poison Flood Dragon...

The soul-shaking roars and the bone-chilling aura were so intense that even from a thousand meters away, Shen Lang could feel the brutality of the battle.

’A team this large, and they all practice Shadow Element Cultivation Techniques. Men and women alike, most of them use short, deadly daggers. The fighting is so brutal, yet hardly anyone makes a sound... Within the Purple Chu Country, you’d be hard-pressed to find another faction like this, aside from the Shadow Tower.’ Shen Lang muttered to himself as he floated silently in the air.

The Shadow Tower was a Profound Iron Level Influence in the northwestern part of the Purple Chu Country. They were extremely secretive—so much so that no one in the world even knew where their Sect was located.

It was a mysterious underground organization that specialized in training assassins and engaging in assassinations or intelligence gathering.

Not only were their movements enigmatic, but their assassinations also rarely failed. They were like a persistent plague; anyone they targeted had absolutely no hope of escape, making them a greatly feared entity.

The Ghost King’s hoarse voice immediately chimed in, ”This group passed through the Dark Forest earlier. They made an offering of treasures to me, so I let them pass. I never expected they’d run into a huge pack of Lightning Crocodiles here. It looks like this battle has already been raging for over an hour. The corpses of the Lightning Crocodiles are piled as high as a mountain.”

’Most of these Lightning Crocodiles are Fourth Level, with a few at Fifth Level... but for a group of Martial Artists at the Third and Fourth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm to face so many of them with zero casualties... the Shadow Tower is truly something else.’

Shen Lang added, finding it odd, ”Something’s strange. It’s illogical for the Shadow Tower to mobilize so many of their people at once just to come to the Sorrow Swamp and fight beasts.”

”So, Boss, what should we do?” the Ghost King asked.

”We’ll watch a while longer.”

As he spoke, Shen Lang took out an Evil Ghost Mask and put it on. He crossed his arms and continued to watch.

This squad from the Shadow Tower was incredibly formidable.

Within their team of fifteen, a master at the Ninth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm held command. Three Martial Artists at the Fifth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm attacked in a triangular battle array, each of them striking with incredible speed and retreating the instant an attack missed.

Although their methods were still rooted in the art of assassination, there was no denying their effectiveness. Every technique was designed to kill. They were direct and deadly, with each strike yielding maximum results.

With each flash of their daggers, they managed to slice open the bellies of the Lightning Crocodiles from uncanny and difficult angles, rarely missing their mark.

However, a large-scale battle was a different beast from an assassination.

They were facing hundreds of Lightning Crocodiles. Even if the Level of each individual beast wasn’t particularly high, seeing such numbers swarm them from all directions was enough to make one’s heart tremble in fear.

To make matters worse, even as they continuously cut down the Lightning Crocodiles, their numbers didn’t seem to decrease. In the distance, many more had caught the scent of blood and were rushing toward the fray.

Even though the Shadow Tower Martial Artists had formidable Cultivation and their strikes against the Lightning Crocodiles were lethal, in a prolonged battle of attrition like this, their only fate was death.

’Martial Artists from the Shadow Tower who’ve reached this level should be equipped with Flying Spiritual Artifacts. But not a single one of these fifteen is taking to the air. That doesn’t seem right...’

After watching for a moment longer, Shen Lang noticed another problem.

He immediately activated his Silver Eyes of Truth. The sight that met him made his heart leap in his chest!

It turned out there was a massive, luminous barrier just two meters in front of him, completely enclosing the group from the Shadow Tower. They were trapped inside an Array, and he himself had nearly flown right into it!

Tendrils of electricity snaked across the surface of the Array, and the entire barrier was suffused with a Thunder Power that Shen Lang knew all too well.

But what startled Shen Lang was that before using his Silver Eyes of Truth, he hadn’t sensed the slightest trace of Thunder Power, despite being so close to the Array!

Given his current mastery of the Thunder Control Divine Technique, such a thing should have been impossible!

Even more bizarrely, while the people inside couldn’t get out, the Array offered no resistance whatsoever to the Lightning Crocodiles charging in from the outside!

It was a one-way Array, designed to let things in but never out!

’The Yin Yang Inverted Qimen Formation! How can the Sorrow Swamp have such an Ancient Strange Array? Why has no one ever heard of it? Could it be that it was never triggered before, and the Shadow Tower members are the ones who just activated it?’

The Yin Yang Inverted Qimen Formation was one of the most profound and esoteric arrays from ancient legends.

This type of Array was designed according to the Eight Trigrams and the Principles of Change, as well as the Yin Yang Five Elements Theory of Birth and Destruction. Its principles ran completely contrary to those of ordinary arrays, making it exceptionally profound and mysterious.

Once inside, it was like being lost in a sea of misty mountains. Visibility was reduced to less than ten meters, and one would lose all sense of distance and direction, making escape nearly impossible.

Furthermore, any attempt to fly would trigger the Array, instantly calling down a Fierce Thunder Fall from Heaven that would be nearly impossible to block.

The members of the Shadow Tower were trapped inside this very Array. They could only passively fend off the attacking Lightning Crocodiles and had not even attempted to find a way to escape.

After a moment, Shen Lang’s gaze fell on a woman in the group. A mass of black qi swirled around her, though she herself seemed completely unaware of it.

’An Evil Spirit... Interesting. I never thought this Yin Yang Inverted Qimen Formation could produce such a powerful Array Spirit...’

Shen Lang’s expression grew solemn.

He had no particular fondness for the Shadow Tower, so he naturally had no desire to get involved in their life-or-death struggle.

The problem was that inside the Array, not far from the edge of the battlefield, a foot-tall Seven-Star Begonia was swaying in the wind...

To harvest the Seven-Star Begonia, he would have to enter the Array!

Once inside, setting aside the difficulty of breaking the Array itself, he would likely be dragged into the melee and get entangled in the chaos.

The Lightning Crocodiles were one thing, but that Evil Spirit was not something to be trifled with...

Shen Lang swept his gaze over the scene within the Grand Array and descended to the ground.

With a wave of his hand, he summoned four Bone Demons. Then, taking a step forward, he walked right into the Yin Yang Inverted Qimen Formation.

Shen Lang was determined to have the Seven-Star Begonia!

Even if it meant braving a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, he would charge right in!