Chapter 382: Chapter 369: Direct Showdown
Wang Dashu had been very anxious, but after hearing what Tian Mohan said, his heart settled considerably.
He said slowly, "Martial Uncle, you might be a little prejudiced against Shen Lang. You say he’s nothing but a troublemaker, but has he actually caused any trouble at all so far?"
"The incident with him supposedly insulting a senior sister was investigated and proven to be a setup. When Liu Feng from Blood Spirit Peak came to challenge him, Shen Lang drove him off. That wasn’t causing trouble; that was an honor for our Songdu Peak! As for his house being demolished... wasn’t that the handiwork of your grandson, Tian Hao? If we have to point fingers, shouldn’t we be saying Tian Hao is the one causing trouble?"
"Oh, are you referring to Tian Hao being severely injured? I am deeply sorry about that, but it truly wasn’t Shen Lang. Many witnesses at the scene can testify that the one who beat Tian Hao was a disciple from Purple Stream Peak, Nalan Ziyun, followed by Bai Feifei."
"Hmph!" Tian Mohan was left speechless. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned away.
That Wang Dashu was an honest man, alright, but honest men are stubbornly principled. By laying out the facts one by one, he really left no room for argument.
"If you really want revenge, sir, you should either go to Purple Stream Peak and look for Leng Hui, or go find Bai Feifei. This has nothing to do with Shen Lang, does it?" Wang Dashu added.
"..." Tian Mohan was struck dumb.
What a joke. Leng Hui was the Master of an Inner Sect peak, deeply favored by the Grand Elders, and fiercely protective of her own.
’Going to her would just be asking for trouble, wouldn’t it?’
’As for Bai Feifei, she might not have a title, but she’s even more difficult to deal with than Leng Hui. If she got her hooks into you, she’d be climbing through your window in the dead of night. It would be an absolute nightmare.’
Tian Mohan snorted, his pacing growing faster and faster.
He said huffily, "Regardless, just look at the Sect Leader and the Elders this time! You can tell this is no small matter!"
"You saw their faces when they arrived, didn’t you? Every one of them was grim, as if the sky were falling. The sight alone made my heart pound... If this turns out to be Shen Lang’s fault again, I don’t see how you, as the Master of this Peak, can escape responsibility!"
The moment he finished speaking, his eyes narrowed. He saw Shen Lang approaching at a leisurely pace behind Su Rong.
Shen Lang looked up and said coldly, "Grand Elder, are you threatening my Master? Even if I did cause some catastrophe, I take responsibility for my own actions. What do you mean by coming here to whine and complain, you old coot?"
Despite being directly provoked and called an "old coot," Tian Mohan actually managed to keep his composure.
He said grimly, "Brat, a sharp tongue won’t solve anything. Your arrogance will only bring trouble upon yourself and your Master. If you truly care for him, then stop causing trouble!"
"Otherwise, not even your Master will be able to protect you!"
Shen Lang sneered. "If anyone else were to say that to me, I might actually listen. I might even agree with them. But not from you. You have absolutely no right to say such a thing to me! If you truly understood that principle, you’d go home and teach your own grandson a lesson first."
"You!" Tian Mohan pointed a withered finger at Shen Lang, his wrinkled face trembling with rage.
Wang Dashu shot a sidelong glance at Tian Mohan before walking to Shen Lang’s side. "Shen Lang," he asked with concern, "are you... alright?"
"I’m fine, Master. Don’t worry." Shen Lang smiled, shook his head, and walked straight into the Songdu Peak Hall.
Su Rong, who was behind them, glanced from Tian Mohan to Wang Dashu. Suppressing a smile, she walked to Wang Dashu’s side and said, "Martial Uncle, that disciple of yours is really something else!"
Wang Dashu was taken aback. "Rong’Er, what on earth happened? Why such a commotion? The Sect Leader and the Elders looked terrifying..."
Su Rong chuckled. "Don’t you worry, Martial Uncle. I only had a few scraps of information before, but I know that what happened is a good thing, not a bad thing."
"A good thing? Oh, that’s good. That’s good." Wang Dashu’s expression finally relaxed.
Su Rong gave a mischievous wink. "I’m absolutely not allowed to talk about the details. You saw—my father wouldn’t even let me inside. But I can give you a little hint!"
Nearby, Tian Mohan immediately pricked up his ears.
Su Rong whispered, "Down at the foot of the mountain, Shen Lang almost got into a fight with five Thunder Guards!"
"..." Wang Dashu was dumbstruck.
Tian Mohan, on the other hand, was inwardly gloating.
How could they not know the strength of the Thunder Guards?
’You can’t even become a Thunder Guard without being at least at the Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven, can you?’
The anxiety Wang Dashu had just managed to set aside came rushing back.
’Shen Lang was able to take on the Thunder Guards? Doesn’t that mean his cultivation is... No, no, that’s not the issue!’
’The issue is that Shen Lang actually fought against the Thunder Guards. Does that mean the Thunder Guards were trying to capture him?’
’And people the Thunder Guards are sent to capture are...’
"This is the worst possible news! How is that a good thing? Even if a fight didn’t break out, it’s still terrible!" Wang Dashu felt his head spin.
Seeing his expression, Su Rong realized she had gone too far with her teasing. She quickly said, "That’s not the point! The point is that Shen Lang killed several Xuanwu Realm powerhouses from the Beast Emperor Palace—some of whom were supposedly above the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven... and he saved over thirty Profound Dao Sect disciples."
CLANG! The pipe in Tian Mohan’s hand dropped to the ground.
’Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven... what did that even mean?’
’Many of the Peak Masters in the Profound Dao Sect hadn’t even reached that level!’
Tian Mohan, Wang Dashu’s own martial uncle, was only at the Xuanwu Realm Fourth Heaven. Wang Dashu himself was only at the Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven!
And now Su Rong was saying that Shen Lang had killed *several* powerhouses at the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven...
What kind of cosmic joke was this?
"So, you see, Shen Lang is a great hero of the Profound Dao Sect! Remember, you absolutely can’t tell anyone, or my dad will flip out."
Without waiting for the two old men to react, Su Rong waved and drifted away. "I’ve said too much! I’m off to find Senior Sister Zi Lan."
...
「In a secret chamber within the Songdu Peak Hall.」 Shen Lang stood before Sect Leader Su Wenxuan and four elderly men whose faces were ancient but whose gazes were as sharp as swords.
"That’s the long and short of it. The people from the Beast Emperor Palace seemed to be searching for something in Wuling Creek... or rather, Shuiyun Stream. They either drove out or slaughtered most of the Demon Beasts in the area and killed many of the Profound Dao Sect disciples who were training there."
"After I discovered that one of the individuals giving me trouble was being controlled by an Insect Technique, I went to Wuling Creek with Kou Xiaotian and the others, and we rescued Jie Fengqing, Zhan Wuji, and the rest."
"Afterward, to lure the Beast Emperor Palace members into a trap, I activated one of their signaling artifacts. I drew them to my location and eliminated them all."
"Is there anything else you, the Sect Leader, or the Elders wish to ask?"
As he spoke, Shen Lang produced the corpse of the disciple who had been controlled by the Insect Technique and laid it on the stone table.
In front of Su Wenxuan and the four Elders, he melted the ice covering the corpse. Then, he sprinkled some powder over the wounds, causing White Jade Insects to continuously emerge, which he collected in a large bottle.
Su Wenxuan was the master of an entire sect, but watching Shen Lang perform this task so methodically sent a chill down his spine.
"The Beast Emperor Palace is utterly depraved! To use an Insect Technique to control a disciple of my Profound Dao Sect!" Su Wenxuan roared. "I will make them pay for this!"
He deliberately overlooked the fact that Shen Lang had killed one of their own disciples.
The four Elders on either side of him exchanged a look and nodded discreetly.
Su Wenxuan suppressed his shock and anger, then said slowly, "As for questions... yes, there are a few things I’d like to ask."
"Before you even arrived at the Profound Dao Sect, I had already heard about you from Leng Hui, Mo Ge, and Zi Lan. Then yesterday, the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, Du Ziyi, informed me of your arrival... I was planning to come and see you myself, but I never expected something like this to happen so soon."
"But never mind that. We can discuss those things later. First, let’s talk about what happened at Wuling Creek."
"Shen Lang, what is your true cultivation Realm?" Su Wenxuan asked, his expression growing serious.
Although he had previously sent Zhang Tianyue with the Void Mirror to inspect this group of new disciples, it had failed to reveal Shen Lang’s true cultivation or anything else out of the ordinary.
But now, even an idiot wouldn’t believe that Shen Lang was merely at the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven.
With that level of cultivation, he wouldn’t be able to wield a supreme Celestial Artifact even if one was handed to him.
To slay a powerhouse at the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven in a single strike, not only did the long saber on his back have to be powerful, but Shen Lang’s own cultivation had to have reached a certain level as well.
Shen Lang turned slightly to the side. With a sudden surge of momentum, eighteen golden needles shot from his body with a series of sharp hisses, embedding themselves deep into the hard stone wall.
Then, Shen Lang released his Breath Concealing Technique, and a surging, powerful aura instantly filled the room.
"Spirit Martial Realm Eighth Heaven!"
An Elder’s eyes glinted as he let out a soft exclamation.
Another Elder with a white beard and hair stared at the golden needles in the wall, his eyes narrowing. With a grave expression, he asked, "Using golden needles to pierce your own body... I fear that’s not just a simple way to hide your cultivation, is it? Could it be..."
"It’s an Ancient Body Refining Technique. It constantly stimulates my blood, obstructs the flow of Spiritual Power, and unleashes the body’s latent potential," Shen Lang stated calmly.
Su Wenxuan and the four Elders were stunned.
While they didn’t know this specific Body Refining Technique, they had heard of such methods.
The pain of practicing such a technique was said to surpass even that of Thunder Power Body Forging. It was like being in Purgatory. An ordinary Martial Artist could never withstand such agony, let alone practice it for years on end.
’This young man... has he been walking around with golden needles in his body as part of his daily life, constantly practicing this Body Refining Technique?’
’And despite having so many needles piercing his body, he stood before them speaking with ease, without the slightest tremor or shiver.’
’What terrifying willpower!’
Su Wenxuan felt his thoughts starting to spin. He focused himself and asked, "How strong is your physical body right now?"
Shen Lang clenched his fist. "I haven’t tested its exact limits, but my body should now be strong enough to easily crush a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact."
Su Wenxuan and the Elders stared, aghast. They were speechless for a long time.
’For anyone with a cultivation below the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven, crushing a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact is next to impossible!’
’This was just a boy at the Spirit Martial Realm Eighth Heaven, yet his physical fortitude had already reached such a level...’
A strange light glinted in Su Wenxuan’s eyes. He asked, a little cautiously, "The long saber on your back... would you allow us to take a look at it? Of course, everyone is entitled to their secrets. We will not force you, and you are free to refuse."
Shen Lang was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Su Wenxuan.
