Strongest War Emperor

Having received detailed information about Dugu Zhange from Xue Shiyin, Su Wenxuan and the other four Sect Leaders were utterly consumed by anxiety. The Elders, who had been standing by in silence, now also wore extremely grim expressions.

No one could have imagined that Dugu Zhange not only had such a formidable background, but that his cultivation was also so incredibly powerful!

To reach the King Martial Realm at his age was already a world-shaking feat, making him an opponent few could match.

And yet, with a cultivation at only the King Martial Realm First Heaven, he had killed a King Martial Realm Third Heaven powerhouse within twenty moves!

At the level of the King Martial Realm, a Martial Artist could soar through the heavens, burrow into the earth, and transform at will. In battle, they could manipulate the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to attack their foes, unleashing terrifying, unparalleled power.

Even if they were outmatched, there were still plenty of opportunities to retreat.

It was common for a battle between two King Martial Realm powerhouses of the same level to last for three days and nights without a clear victor.

Unless one possessed a Supreme Divine Weapon or an incomparably powerful Cultivation Technique, it was incredibly difficult to end a fight quickly.

To say nothing of challenging someone at a higher level...

If the disparity between the Xuanwu Realm First Heaven and Second Heaven was like that between a toddler and a hulking man, then the gap between the King Martial Realm Second Heaven and First Heaven was comparable to that of a toddler and a Giant whose feet stood upon the earth and whose head touched the Azure Vault.

For Dugu Zhange to have such a battle record... it was no wonder everyone was worried.

And just as everyone was overcome with worry, something unexpected happened...

The information about Dugu Zhange that Su Wenxuan had just relayed via Divine Thought suddenly began to circulate from an unknown source. Like a virus, it spread throughout all of Cangxia Mountain in an instant!

The tens of thousands of Martial Artists waiting for the duels, plus the tens of thousands more from various powers who had come to spectate... RUMBLE. Suddenly, every single one of them knew about Dugu Zhange!

Moments before, everyone’s attention had been on the upcoming selection tournament for the Yumu Cave Blessed Land. Now, in a flash, all focus had shifted to the affair between Shen Lang and Dugu Zhange!

Su Wenxuan and his group were instantly dumbfounded.

”Hahaha! I told you I was betting on Dugu Zhange from the start! Shen Lang is going to get wrecked this time!”

”It’s unbelievable! Being from a Hidden Noble Family is one thing, but killing a King Martial Realm Third Heaven powerhouse within twenty moves... He’s a complete monster!”

”So incredible! The scions of the Hidden Noble Families are truly on another level!”

”That Shen Lang is so flamboyant. Now that he’s facing such a powerful opponent, let’s see how arrogant he can be!”

”He gets a little bit of power and parades it around for all to see. Serves him right, doesn’t it? He’s only at the Xuanwu Realm, while Dugu Zhange is already on a whole other plane of existence!”

”Normally, no King Martial Realm powerhouse would ever challenge someone from the Xuanwu Realm. It’s completely beneath them. But that brat Shen Lang beat up one of our disciples in front of so many people. He brought this on himself!”

Whether they were Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists or Xuanwu Realm powerhouses, they were all chattering excitedly.

Some were shocked by Dugu Zhange’s strength, but even more were reveling in the misfortune of Shen Lang and the Profound Dao Sect.

Countless gazes, a mixture of gloating and pity, fell upon the Profound Dao Sect, making everyone there feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

As this terrifying information spread, even the disciples of the Profound Dao Sect and the other four sects felt their hearts drop, and they began to worry for Shen Lang...

After all, in a one-on-one duel, no one else could step in for him like before.

Otherwise, forget Duanmu Xie; even sending out Duanmu Zheng would be enough to annihilate Dugu Zhange.

Since Dugu Zhange was so powerful and was as close as brothers with the Third Prince, if he truly tried to kill Shen Lang, it was anyone’s guess whether Shen Lang could survive...

The old-timers from the Imperial Dragon Sect and the other sects looked at each other, sighing inwardly.

Given their positions, it really wasn’t their place to comment on the matter.

Although the group of old-timers all favored Shen Lang, Dugu Zhange’s combat prowess was simply too frightening...

”Qingcheng, can you think of a way to get Xiaolang out of this duel with Dugu Zhange?”

Shen Moran finally couldn’t help but ask, her ears ringing with the surrounding chatter.

To be honest, she didn’t particularly care if Shen Lang won or lost, but from the sound of things, Dugu Zhange might actually try to kill him!

’If the other powerhouses don’t intervene, or if they’re too late...’

With a sharp SNAP, Chu Qingcheng opened the paper fan in his hand and said leisurely, ”This is the Third Prince’s doing. He’s deliberately spreading this information about Dugu Zhange to suppress the momentum of both the Profound Dao Sect and Xiaolang. It’s hard to say how much is an exaggeration. But even if it’s all true, it doesn’t mean he can actually do anything to Xiaolang.”

”I know you’re worried about him, but when have you ever seen him do anything he wasn’t confident about?”

”Relax... If worse comes to worst, we’ll just have Duanmu Xie stomp that bastard flat. What’s the big deal? ...Don’t look at me like that. I never claimed to be an honorable man. That guy is using his King Martial Realm Cultivation to challenge a Xuanwu Realm Martial Artist to a one-on-one fight, so why can’t our lovable Emperor Martial Realm Zombie Emperor challenge *him* to one?”

Seeing the group staring at him, Chu Qingcheng just shrugged.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. What this guy said was always difficult to refute—in fact, it was utterly irrefutable.

For a moment, all of Cangxia Mountain was in an uproar...

Meanwhile, Shen Lang, the man at the center of this storm of public opinion, was completely oblivious to the events unfolding on Cangxia Mountain.

Breaking through to the King Martial Realm after reaching the Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven was not something to be taken lightly, even with the support of the War Emperor’s memories.

Ten Elements Mansions slowly revolved around his Mystic Pill.

An incredibly dense life force enveloped Shen Lang. The ten Elements Mansions, like ten brilliant stars in the night sky, slowly converged on the Mystic Pill.

To break through to the King Martial Realm, the Elements Mansions, the Mystic Pill, the Sea of Consciousness, and the Martial Soul all had to merge into one and form a Nascent Soul.

Shen Lang felt no nervousness about his breakthrough to the King Martial Realm.

’If I have to say I’m nervous about anything,’ he thought, ’it’s that this Tai Chi Diagram, despite functioning like a Martial Soul, is an external object. It’s not a true Martial Soul.’

’Whether it can act as a Martial Soul and ultimately merge with my Mystic Pill and Elements Mansions is a complete unknown.’

Shen Lang had no idea what might happen during the fusion process.

Just as his Elements Mansions were closing in on his Mystic Pill, Shen Lang felt a sudden stir, and at this critical moment, his consciousness unexpectedly entered the Tai Chi Diagram!

Inside the Tai Chi Diagram, the ocean formed by the Supreme Yin Qi had completely vanished.

Over this period, all of the Supreme Yin Qi had been completely refined, becoming part of the Tai Chi Diagram itself.

And within the Tai Chi Diagram, the tiny crack in the center of the once-faintly-green seed suddenly split wide open!

A lush, green sprout slowly emerged...

’Strange. It’s been a while since the Supreme Yin Qi was refined and absorbed. Why is the seed sprouting at this exact moment?’

Before Shen Lang’s astonished eyes, a sprout emerged from the top of the tiny seed, while slender roots appeared below, plunging deep into the Sea of Chaos!

At that moment, Shen Lang felt life spring forth from nothingness.

An epiphany, one that was difficult to put into words, seemed to bloom in his mind.

Just then, the tiny sprout swayed gently, as if a child were trying to act cute for its father.

With a thought, Shen Lang gently waved his right hand.

The vast, boundless Energy within the Tai Chi Diagram instantly converged on the sprout!

The sprout seemed to issue a joyful cry, immediately forming a vortex and beginning to devour the immense Energy surging toward it. It was quite a while before it finally stopped.

’The Energy I worked so hard to gather is almost gone... You’re such a glutton! And after eating so much, you’ve only grown less than two inches!’

Shen Lang frowned, sighing in bemusement.

At that exact moment, the sprout suddenly transformed, shooting up to over two feet tall and nudging against Shen Lang’s side twice in an attempt to curry favor.

’Alright, alright. I’ll collect more Spirit Stones and Demon Crystals and continue to absorb a ton of Energy. Otherwise, I won’t be able to keep up with a glutton like you.’

Shen Lang stroked the sprout dotingly.

Like a small child, the sprout projected a thought of gleeful cheering before shrinking back down to its two-inch-tall form.

Shen Lang quietly assessed the changes and was startled to find that, because the sprout had taken root, his control over the Tai Chi Diagram seemed to have grown significantly stronger!

FWOOSH!

With just a single thought, flickers of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire erupted around Shen Lang, forming a terrifying wall of flames!

’It’s so much faster!’

Shen Lang was overjoyed.

Although Shen Lang had used the Tai Chi Diagram to deconstruct the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, its structure was incredibly complex. Using the Energy within the diagram to form even a single flicker of it still took a considerable amount of time.

Just ten days ago, it would have taken Shen Lang ten seconds to release a flicker of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire the length of a finger.

But now, with a single thought and in less than a second, an entire wall of fire had formed around him!

Ten days ago, if Shen Lang had wanted to use the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire in combat, it would have been like spending ten seconds striking a single match and tossing it.

Now, it was like lighting and throwing a Molotov cocktail in three seconds.

Not only had the flame’s Destructive Power increased dramatically, but its speed had also more than doubled.

Moreover, Shen Lang could clearly sense that in this short time, the space within the Tai Chi Diagram had doubled in size!

This tiny sprout was like the very soul of the Tai Chi Diagram.

Although it absorbed the Energy within the Tai Chi Diagram to grow, its growth, in turn, spurred the growth of the diagram itself.

The two were symbiotic, their bond growing ever closer.

He hadn’t even broken through to the King Martial Realm yet, and the Tai Chi Diagram had already undergone a fundamental transformation.

Vaguely, Shen Lang felt that he, too, had undergone some kind of strange transformation, but it was an indistinct change, one he couldn’t quite grasp yet.

’I’ll deal with the Tai Chi Diagram later. First, I need to condense my Nascent Soul and break through to the King Martial Realm!’

While everyone on Cangxia Mountain was abuzz with talk of Shen Lang and Dugu Zhange, back in the Imperial Capital, Shen Lang’s attempt to break through to the King Martial Realm had reached its most critical juncture...