Chapter 376: Chapter 363: The Emperor’s Will Is a Flaw

Every member of the Beast Emperor Palace strengthened themselves by controlling Demon Beasts.

But at some point, a past generation stopped simply forming contracts with Demon Beasts as mutually beneficial partners.

Instead, they began to tread a sinister path, merging Demon Beasts with their own bodies.

Some used their bodies to raise insects, while others implanted Demon Snakes into themselves. This created a symbiosis that allowed them to gain the innately powerful bodies and Talent Abilities of Demon Beasts.

However, this practice made them neither human nor demon. Many Sects ostracized them, treating them as aberrations, so they rarely dared to reveal this form.

They would only use it in moments of crisis.

Now, these three were flying through the air in this bizarre and disgusting state, causing Xue Shiyin to frown in disgust.

"Oh, fine. We have a deep connection, so I might as well help you."

Xue Shiyin muttered, flicking her left hand. Three pillars of light flashed and vanished.

The three Beast Emperor Palace Martial Artists, who had been watching them, saw that things were going badly and immediately turned to flee.

Unfortunately, before a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm expert like Xue Shiyin, all their efforts were in vain.

The moment they turned, a sky full of flowers suddenly swept over them, enveloping each of the three men!

Then, the three tightly wrapped bundles of flowers suddenly burst apart. The men inside were gone, having transformed into blood-red petals that fluttered to the ground before disappearing...

With a flick of her sleeve, Xue Shiyin brought Shen Lang to the summit of a strange peak. She sat down on the edge of a cliff shrouded in clouds.

"You should already know what I want to ask, right?" Xue Shiyin’s gaze landed on Shen Lang’s face. Her expression flickered several times, but she refused to look away.

"I don’t," Shen Lang said, playing dumb without hesitation.

If anyone else had dared to speak to her like that, they probably would have been reduced to dust long ago.

But for some reason, looking at this face, Xue Shiyin just couldn’t bring herself to get angry.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her tone calm. "Are you his disciple, or... his son?"

"His son?" Shen Lang was stunned for a moment before he understood. "I don’t know if he has a son, but I’m definitely not it. Do you care if he has a son?"

Xue Shiyin smoothed her hair in the mountain wind. "Don’t think that just because you have some connection to him, you can spew nonsense in front of me. Many women are capricious creatures, and I am especially so. If you don’t want me to suddenly seal your Cultivation and throw you off this cliff, you’ll answer my questions obediently."

"Disciple. The genuine article," Shen Lang said, rolling his eyes.

Her expression didn’t change as she asked, somewhat dazedly, "Is he... doing well? Where is he now?"

"He should be doing alright... As for where he’s gone, I have no idea." Shen Lang shook his head. "You know how he is—always elusive. No one can ever track his movements."

"He told you even about me, yet you don’t know his whereabouts?" Xue Shiyin’s tone turned hostile.

From her perspective, this was not something an elder would normally tell a junior, unless there was some secret or special circumstance.

Shen Lang turned his head, sighing as he looked at Xue Shiyin, who bore a slight resemblance to Xue Dangdang.

He said slowly, "The Emperor’s Will is no small matter. It is a Realm that transcends even Sword and Saber Intent. Once cultivated to the Great Success Realm, it can suppress all of existence and is unmatched... You must have discovered this long ago, right?"

"I know. He used the Emperor’s Will to suppress the Demon Path Powerhouses when he saved my Xue Family," Xue Shiyin nodded.

Shen Lang was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Across the entire Star Continent, those who have comprehended the Emperor Realm are few and far between. Whether it’s the Human Emperor, Dragon Emperor, Sword Emperor, or Demon Emperor, none of them have come close to grasping the Emperor’s Will. Only the Five Directions Emperor can use the Emperor’s Will to crush even Venerable-level experts."

"Actually, you’ve already guessed who he is, haven’t you?"

"Since you’ve guessed his identity, perhaps you can understand that this longing of yours is hopeless."

A gust of wind blew past, and Shen Lang suddenly felt himself enveloped by a thick wave of sorrow.

It was a sorrow so dense it was impossible to cut through...

Xue Shiyin’s eyelashes trembled, and a single hot tear fell. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Her voice was faint and ethereal. "The Eastern Desolate Demon Clan’s Eternal Cyan Heaven Emperor; the Southern Wilderness Soul Hall’s Four Extremes Soul Burial Emperor; the Northern Wilderness’s Iceberg Profound Ice Sea Suppressing Emperor; the Western Wilderness Human Race’s Heaven-Burning Fierce Flame Emperor; and the Nine Heavens War Emperor, the Venerable of Central State... He is of the Human Race, so he absolutely cannot be a Demon Emperor or a Soul Emperor."

"The Northern Wilderness Ice Emperor is not of the Human Race, and is also a woman. The Western Wilderness Flame Emperor is a master of the Heaven-Burning Fire, capable of Heaven-Burning Sea-Boiling. Legend says he wields one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts, the ’Night Shocking Spear,’ the ancestor of all spears. But he had no trace of the Heaven-Burning Fire’s aura and used a longsword."

"Excluding those four emperors, that only leaves one... the War God Hall’s Nine Heavens War Emperor..."

’Could it be... he’s really...’

As Xue Shiyin spoke, she turned to face Shen Lang, her eyes filled with anticipation, yet she also seemed to fear an affirmative answer.

After a moment of silence, Shen Lang nodded firmly. "Yes."

"But the world’s experts can only see the War God Hall when its members wish to appear. If they don’t, it’s impossible for anyone to find it. So how am I supposed to find him?" Xue Shiyin’s voice began to tremble.

Shen Lang shook his head. "The reason I told you his identity is so you won’t look for him anymore. He carries too many burdens and has too much to do. It would be useless even if you found him."

"Would it really be useless?" Xue Shiyin stared at Shen Lang, as if trying to see through to his very soul.

Shen Lang fell silent. He didn’t even understand why he was saying these things.

It was as if these words had long existed in the War Emperor’s heart, only to be spoken through his mouth at this specific moment.

And all of this was so similar to how he had rejected Dingdang back then!

Because they carried too many burdens, because they couldn’t escape the shackles of fate, he—or rather, the War Emperor—had chosen to run away...

’No, that’s not right!’ Shen Lang thought, shaking his head. ’Dingdang and I must have been fated in a past life. We’ve known each other for years and have been together for a long time. But the War Emperor only saved Xue Shiyin back then and has always seen her as a little sister!’

’My relationship with Dingdang is completely different from theirs.’

’And yet, love is love. What difference could there be...?’

’Why did I just say that to her? It seemed to be the War Emperor’s true intention, not what I really think in my heart...’

Just then, Xue Shiyin turned her face, tears falling as she stared dazedly at Shen Lang without blinking.

Shen Lang’s heart skipped a beat. ’Trouble. She saw through me...’

Sure enough, Xue Shiyin’s red lips parted. "Release the Emperor’s Will. Right here, in front of me."

Shen Lang said nothing. This was the one thing he had been worried about.

Back in Celestial Phoenix City, when facing Xue Jingyuan’s Death Realm, the Emperor Realm had been the best way to suppress it and break through.

At the time, he had been enraged by Xue Jingyuan’s aura and had just gone berserk over the incident with Nalan Ziyun, so he had used it without a second thought.

In the eyes of others, this power was indeed formidable and utterly domineering.

But only an expert like Xue Shiyin could truly understand the might of the Emperor’s Will.

The Emperor’s Will could also be called the Emperor Realm.

It wasn’t the kind of aura displayed by an ordinary emperor.

It was a Realm that could suppress all things.

Shen Lang himself had said it earlier: this was a Realm that not even the Human Emperor or the Sword Emperor had comprehended. Only the Five Directions Emperor, or those who had reached their level, could possess the true Emperor Realm!

And that was the problem.

Why would the Emperor Realm, something only the Five Directions Emperor possessed, appear in Shen Lang?

Because he was the War Emperor’s disciple, Shen Lang had managed to comprehend the Emperor Realm at the age of sixteen?

That wasn’t just a joke; it was a flat-out insult to the other Four Directions Great Emperors.

If that were the case, the other four emperors would probably storm out, cursing and swearing.

Even though Shen Lang was usually sharp-tongued, he was at a loss for words.

He waved his hands frantically and said, "Sister... no, Grandma, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m really his disciple! He left a sliver of his Divine Thought on me to help me comprehend this Realm, that’s the only reason I can use the Emperor Realm!"

The explanation was conventional, but it was the only one that might possibly be convincing.

"You bastard, who are you calling Grandma? Do I look that old to you?"

Xue Shiyin’s eyes went wide with rage. She glared viciously at Shen Lang, the threat in her eyes perfectly clear.

In that moment, she looked just like Xue Dangdang.

Ah, women. No matter how many years they live, once they pass eighteen, they all fear being called old.

"Alright, my mistake, Sister... I was just trying to say, life is short, so we should live it to the fullest. Why be so persistent?" Shen Lang said with a pained expression.

Xue Shiyin sighed and brought the topic back around. "Release the Emperor’s Will. Let me see it."

Shen Lang felt like dying.

His Emperor’s Will was a direct inheritance from the War Emperor. This was fundamentally different from merely having a sliver of the War Emperor’s Divine Thought left on him, as he had just claimed.

Of course, Xue Shiyin’s Cultivation couldn’t compare to the War Emperor’s, but she was a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm expert nonetheless.

If he didn’t use it, fine. But the moment he did, how could he possibly fool her?

Once she confirmed that this Emperor Realm was Shen Lang’s own and not a trace of Divine Thought left by the War Emperor, she would immediately conclude that Shen Lang was the War Emperor...

And if that happened...

Dingdang called Shen Lang "Brother Lang," and Shen Lang called Dingdang’s Elder Ancestor "Sister."

If Xue Shiyin came to believe Shen Lang was the War Emperor, she would then have to call him "Brother Lang" as well...

Could things possibly get any more messed up?

Shen Lang felt a massive headache coming on.

"Alright, I was just teasing you... How could a little brat like you possibly comprehend the Emperor Realm? If you had, wouldn’t that make you a Great Emperor too? Hehe!" Xue Shiyin suddenly started laughing.

A blush appeared on her cheeks and her eyes grew hazy, a complete departure from the tearful, miserable state she’d been in just moments before.

Shen Lang couldn’t help but be taken aback. Xue Shiyin just smiled again and said, "How ridiculous. I actually cried and laughed in front of a junior. If word of this got out, no one would believe it... Kid, do you know how to get to the War God Hall?"