Shen Lang had a very long and strange dream.
So much so that he was fast asleep from morning until the last Artifact Refining Class of the afternoon.
Tayun Academy was very open-minded about this.
When most instructors saw Shen Lang sleeping like a log, they chose to ignore him, save for a few who would shake their heads and sigh.
After all, he had the much-hyped Celestial Vein Sacred Body, didn't he?
In the Ancient Era, this physique was hailed as the "Naturally Born Supreme." Its owner's cultivation would progress by leaps and bounds, making them almost guaranteed to become an unparalleled expert. Yet in this era, the "Celestial Vein Sacred Body" had become a synonym for trash.
Shen Lang's current physique was the Celestial Vein Sacred Body.
A physique that sounded impressive, but in reality, made it completely impossible to cultivate or form a Pill Sea.
So, whether Shen Lang paid attention in class truly didn't matter. Besides, he had been sleeping like this for nearly ten years.
He was Tayun Academy's one and only "Sleep God."
However, no one could have imagined the danger Shen Lang was in.
At this very moment, two clusters of light were facing off within Shen Lang's withered Sea of Consciousness.
These two clusters of light...
One was the soul of a youth from Earth, glowing like a bright lamp and emitting a dazzling radiance.
The other, however, was countless times larger, as brilliant and dazzling as a star.
The two were simply not on the same level!
"This is my body. Get out!" Even though Shen Lang was facing a soul countless times stronger than his own and was in danger of being devoured at any moment, he remained calm and composed. His voice was as tranquil as an old, undisturbed well.
The star-like soul cluster flickered and transformed into a middle-aged man. He casually conjured a chair, sat down, and stared intently at Shen Lang.
The man's features were sharp and well-defined, his build tall and slender. His eyes shimmered, radiating a captivating light, and his entire being exuded an indescribable power.
What gave the man pause was that Shen Lang also manifested his original appearance: long-haired and dressed in black, looking wild and unrestrained yet carrying a hint of world-weariness and depth. He calmly met the man's gaze.
"Don't be hasty. I will disappear completely in a moment. You and I are one and the same, so how about we chat for a bit first?" The middle-aged man's voice was magnetic, possessing an indescribable quality. It had a strange effect on the listener, making them subconsciously feel that anything he said must be true.
But that wasn't what Shen Lang found strange. What horrified him to his core was that he genuinely had a feeling... a feeling that the middle-aged man *was* him!
The sensation was beyond bizarre. He was clearly standing right here, yet he could feel another version of himself sitting across from him.
"Absurd!" Shen Lang scoffed. "What do you mean, 'we are one and the same'? I am Shen Lang. And who might you be?"
The middle-aged man pondered for a moment before chuckling softly. "I was just wondering how to explain this to you. I know your name is Shen Lang and that you came from Earth. The thing is... my name is also Shen Lang. But not many people know that name. They prefer to call me... the War Emperor."
Shen Lang was utterly stunned. Ten years had passed since he'd transmigrated from Earth, an event that he was sure nobody else could possibly know about.
Yet this man had exposed it in a single breath!
And as for the name "War Emperor," it was virtually impossible to find anyone on the Star Continent who hadn't heard it.
He was the Master of War God Hall, the most mysterious sacred ground of the Human Race!
He was the War Emperor, whose true face no one had ever seen; the one who had supposedly led the Human Race to the peak of the Human Realm!
'This most mysterious and powerful War Emperor of the Human Realm is now in my Sea of Consciousness as a soul. Does that mean...'
'...the War Emperor has already fallen?'
Shen Lang possessed a maturity that belied his age. His expression remained unchanged as he asked, "I'm not interested in the War Emperor's affairs. State your purpose, then leave this place."
The War Emperor stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed up at the sky. He spoke in a distant voice, "Our souls are originally one and the same. You went to an alternate space called Earth, while I remained here, cultivating for nearly ten thousand years, all to wait for your return. The moment you arrived here ten years ago was the moment of my fall. Now, it is time for us to fuse together... There isn't much time left for us..."
Shen Lang snorted coldly. "After all that talk, isn't your goal just to devour me? Why beat around the bush?"
The War Emperor smiled faintly. "Not devour, but fuse. You already believe me, don't you? You noticed my abnormality long ago, and you also know that if I truly wanted to devour you, I wouldn't need to waste so many words. This is because, of our Three Souls and Six Spirits, you are the primary and I am the secondary. I am merely a wisp of a soul you sent out to explore the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Only you can devour me; I am fundamentally incapable of devouring you..."
Shen Lang's dream was long, so long it felt as if thousands, even tens of thousands of years had passed.
As countless memories and pieces of information flooded into his mind, he could even feel the agony of his soul being torn apart...
In those memories, the War Emperor led countless powerful experts to conquer the Four Corners of the world, fighting until the skies grew dark and the sun and moon lost their light.
Yet, at the very end of the dream, time and space seemed to freeze...
An impossibly huge face appeared in the sky, blotting out the heavens and the earth as it looked down upon all living things...
A world-destroying pressure enveloped the entire world. Under its weight, countless living beings prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
"HAHAHAHA... I understand now!"