Strongest War Emperor

Chapter 289: Chapter 276: Give Me a Reason Not to Kill You

What the people of Qingfeng Stronghold didn’t expect was...

Shen Lang blew out a light breath, and the white powder thrown at his face suddenly reversed course, instantly scattering all over Qu Rong’s face!

However, Qu Rong had surely taken an antidote beforehand every time she used this poison powder, so she wasn’t too concerned.

Just slightly startled, she suddenly accelerated her left hand, about to press it against Shen Lang’s neck.

A sinister light glinted on her fingernails, which were clearly coated in a deadly poison.

If it broke the skin, the consequences would be severe.

Shen Lang’s expression didn’t change. His right hand shot up like lightning, instantly clamping down on Qu Rong’s left wrist.

CRACK!

Qu Rong felt as if her hand had been caught in a steel clamp. Excruciating pain shot through her, and she couldn’t move it an inch!

"He’s not at the Qi Martial Realm Fourth Heaven!" Qu Rong shrieked. Instead of retreating, she advanced, pressing her entire body towards Shen Lang.

"Hm?" Seeing her do this, Shen Lang was slightly taken aback.

When a Martial Artist’s wrist is caught by an opponent, they should attack with their other hand or their feet to relieve the pressure and escape the hold.

Charging forward like this was completely suicidal.

’Could it be...’

The doubt in Shen Lang’s eyes vanished in a flash. He dragged her forward with his right hand, gripped her palm, and abruptly pressed down hard!

If this pressure was fully applied, Qu Rong’s left hand would surely be crippled.

However, just as Shen Lang expected, the move had no effect.

In that instant, Qu Rong’s left arm became as if boneless—soft and incredibly slippery. With a SLIP, she pulled it back, escaping Shen Lang’s grasp.

The next moment, a foul stench assaulted him. Qu Rong’s body transformed as she lunged, turning into a giant python. With a series of hisses, it instantly coiled tightly around Shen Lang!

At the same time, the two men charging from behind also underwent a massive transformation.

The burly Wang Dazhu’s body swelled, transforming into a black bear standing ten feet tall. He dropped his Wolf Fang Club, saliva dripping from his massive jaws, and threw a punch straight at Shen Lang’s head!

Meanwhile, the scrawny Zhang Xiaoshan had turned into an even smaller, blood-red monkey. He circled to Shen Lang’s right like a flash of lightning, thrusting a dagger toward his waist.

’Beast transformation? The Half-Demon Race? No...’

A loud, soaring dragon’s roar suddenly echoed from within Shen Lang’s chest. He arched and straightened his body, and an incomparably tyrannical power burst forth from him in an instant!

A massive shockwave radiated out in all directions with him at the center.

Qu Rong let out a bloodcurdling scream as the python’s body was blasted into countless pieces. The blood-red monkey was also sent flying by the immense shockwave, tumbling backward like a kite with a broken string!

Only the tall and sturdy black bear merely slowed down; its fist still continued unstoppably toward Shen Lang’s head.

"An Evil Yin Technique, yet it has some ability!"

Shen Lang snorted. Facing the nearly three-meter-tall black bear, he didn’t retreat an inch. With just a cold glance, he met the giant fist with a punch of his own!

His fist, enveloped in tyrannical Thunder Power, let out a dull roar as it broke the air. In that instant, the fog was violently swept away. The sounds of a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s howl erupted at once, absolutely astonishing!

BOOM!

Shen Lang’s and the black bear’s fists collided. All the bones and sinews in Shen Lang’s body rang out with a series of CRACKS, yet his feet were rooted to the ground, not moving back even half a step!

Meanwhile, the sound of cracking bones came from the black bear’s astonishingly powerful fist. It let out a sharp cry of pain and was sent flying backward, crashing into the crowd of Qingfeng Stronghold members like a small mountain.

The impact instantly killed three people. Several others who were grazed by the fall were left spitting blood, unable to even get up!

"I have no quarrel with you, yet you’ve attacked me with lethal moves from the start. It seems quite a few innocent souls have died at your hands... Since I’ve run into you, I can’t let you live."

Shen Lang leaped, lunging toward the blood-red monkey on his right, which appeared to be the least injured!

Terror filled the monkey’s eyes. It threw the two daggers in its hands, which transformed into two streaks of light—one aimed at Shen Lang’s heart, the other at the spot between his brows.

Shen Lang’s movement slowed. Without retracting his right hand, he simply drew a casual circle in front of him, and a Tai Chi Diagram resembling a water’s surface immediately formed.

TSS! TSS!

When the two incredibly fast daggers struck the Tai Chi Diagram, it was as if they had plunged into thick mud. They only penetrated a tiny bit before getting stuck, unable to move another fraction of an inch.

The blood-red monkey saw its two companions severely wounded in a single blow and its own Spiritual Artifacts so easily neutralized. The shock nearly scattered its soul.

It spun around, picked up a massive boulder weighing over a thousand pounds, and hurled it at Shen Lang.

As soon as the boulder was thrown, the monkey decisively turned and scrambled up the cliff face!

"Fierce Thunder Monument-Opening Hand!"

Shen Lang remained fearless. He casually struck the boulder with his palm. As lightning flashed, there was a crisp CRACK, and the massive boulder suddenly shattered into pieces, crumbling to the ground!

SWISH!

Within the dense fog, just as the boulder shattered, the blood-red monkey that had been climbing the cliff suddenly dove down from mid-air. It spiraled as it fell, its sharp claws aiming for Shen Lang’s head.

Before the claws even got close, the sound of them tearing through the air echoed throughout the canyon! free𝑤ebnovel.com

In the nick of time, Shen Lang leaned back and shot his right foot upward in a kick. The movement wasn’t fast, but his timing was perfect, landing a solid blow on the little monkey’s abdomen!

The immensely powerful Shen Lang was also carrying over ten thousand pounds of Blue Copper. How much force could a casual punch or kick from him contain?

The monkey that Zhang Xiaoshan had transformed into felt as if it had been hit by a war chariot. It violently spewed a mouthful of blood, its vision went black, and it was sent crashing backward.

"Hmph!"

Shen Lang snorted softly. With a wave of his right hand, he sent out two Spirit Techniques, dispelling the Maze Array.

The thick fog vanished in an instant without a trace, revealing the canyon’s original appearance.

When the group from Qingfeng Stronghold saw the Maze Array was gone, they let out terrified shrieks and scattered, trying to flee!

"Trying to run?"

Shen Lang lifted his right foot and stomped it down hard on the ground!

A dull explosion thundered out. Immediately, a fissure about three feet wide spread rapidly from under his foot. The crack, accompanied by booming sounds, moved like a serpent slithering underground, reaching the feet of the Qingfeng Stronghold group in a flash...

BOOM!

Invisible Powerful Qi, carrying dust and black gravel, shot out from the fissure and exploded violently amidst the crowd!

"AHH!"

The members of Qingfeng Stronghold howled in agony as they were sent flying in all directions. The scene was quite spectacular.

Several of them slammed hard against the cliff walls, getting knocked completely senseless. The impact sent a continuous shower of loose rock CLATTERING down.

At this point, not a single one of the three minor leaders and their lackeys from Qingfeng Stronghold could stand.

Every one of them was sprawled on the ground, coughing up blood and wailing in pain.

The sight was too gruesome to bear!

The trio of Wang Dazhu and the others had reverted to their human forms, but they were in a much more wretched state than their underlings.

Wang Dazhu’s right arm was completely ruined, and several of his ribs were broken. He lay on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

Qu Rong’s entire body was a mess of torn flesh and flowing blood. She was breathing out but barely breathing in.

As for Zhang Xiaoshan, he looked the least injured, but Shen Lang’s kick had been solid. It had come just short of shattering his Pill Sea. He was currently curled into a ball, letting out strange yelps.

Although Shen Lang hadn’t used his full strength against these bandits, he had no intention of showing mercy.

In the blink of an eye, the entire group from Qingfeng Stronghold had been crippled.

Shen Lang flicked his toe, sending a fist-sized rock flying. It struck the waist of a man sprawled over a large boulder.

The man let out a strange cry, clutched his waist, and dropped to his knees. "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

Shen Lang raised an eyebrow. "Fatty, you ran the fastest and are the least injured, so you must be a clever one... Now go collect everyone’s Storage Pouches and bring them to me. If you’re short by even one Spirit Stone, I guarantee you’ll end up worse off than the most miserable one here."

"Rest assured, my lord, I’ll get it done properly!"

The fatty seemed to see a glimmer of hope and eagerly started taking the Storage Pouches from the people on the ground.

Even after being severely injured and then hit by the rock Shen Lang had kicked, he could still move so nimbly. Even Shen Lang couldn’t help but give him a surprised second glance.

"You damn fatty, you’ll die a miserable death!"

"When I recover, I’ll definitely not let you off!"

Those from Qingfeng Stronghold who could still speak started cursing him out.

But they didn’t dare curse Shen Lang; all their curses were aimed at the fatty.

Those who couldn’t speak just gurgled unintelligibly, seeming to spit out even more blood.

At first, the fatty kept trying to explain himself, but eventually, he seemed to get fed up. Whoever cursed him would get a kick in return, making them cry for their mothers.

"Damn it, if you just handed over your Storage Pouches obediently, there wouldn’t be any trouble! But no, you have to curse all eighteen generations of my ancestors... I’m the one that lord appointed to assist him! Believe it or not, one kick from me could send you to the afterlife?"

The fatty’s words worked. The people of Qingfeng Stronghold had always been bullies to the weak and cowards to the strong, so they didn’t dare open their mouths again.

’This fatty is no simpleton...’

Shen Lang gave the fatty a cool glance, then walked a couple of steps and sat down on a blue stone in front of Zhang Xiaoshan. He said coldly, "Stop playing dead. Wounds like these haven’t even damaged your internal organs. With your Cultivation, you shouldn’t be in such a sorry state. Get up."

He turned his head slightly, glanced at the other two, and said, "You two, get over here obediently as well. If I have to make you, what if my hand slips and I end up burying you alive?"

Wang Dazhu and Qu Rong, who had been in a wretched, half-dead state, jolted upon hearing this. Their eyes shot wide open in terror as they struggled to their feet!

Over here, Zhang Xiaoshan, who had been curled up like a shrimp, also climbed awkwardly to his feet. He repeatedly bowed to Shen Lang. "Young man, spare our lives! We were blind to have offended you. Please, be the bigger person... I’ve never really harmed anyone! Our ’Illusion Mist Three Heroes’ might not have a great reputation, but we’ve always just taken money without taking lives. At least, we’ve never harmed innocent commoners!"

Qu Rong immediately chimed in, "That’s right, that’s right! Young man, if you don’t believe us, you can go to Illusion Mist City and ask around. Although we’re bandits, we’re actually righteous thieves. As long as merchants passing through here hand over a little money, we don’t make things difficult for them. If they refuse, at most we just beat them up and take their belongings..."

"Oh? Is that really so?"

Shen Lang said grimly, "I have no quarrel with you. I was just passing through this canyon, yet you immediately tried to kill me, even using an Evil Yin Technique that takes a heavy toll on the body. And you have the nerve to tell me you’re righteous thieves?"

"Don’t think too highly of me; I’m no saint myself. Give me a reason not to kill you."

As he spoke, Shen Lang bent down and gently, skillfully, slipped the Sumeru Ring off Qu Rong’s hand. The three of them were dumbfounded by his smooth action.