War God Long Ao

Long Ao could clearly feel just how powerful the opponent's palm strike was.

He instantly brandished the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber in his hand, unleashing waves of Sword Auras. But without exception, all of them were shattered by his opponent's Palm Force.

"The Long Family's Innate Martial Skill, the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, is truly formidable."

"If nothing goes wrong, Long Yulang has already practiced the Cloud-Dispelling Palm to its peak. A single palm strike contains a hundred variations, making it impossibly unpredictable."

The Innate Martial Skill, Cloud-Dispelling Palm.

Just as he'd suspected. Long Ao had already guessed that the technique Long Yulang was using was an Innate Martial Skill. Unlike Postnatal Martial Skills, Innate Martial Skills were specifically tailored for Innate Martial Artists. When the two were combined, their power could skyrocket.

He unleashed the Celestial Profound Finger—the first, second, and third fingers in succession. The terrifyingly powerful Finger Force slammed into Long Yulang's Cloud-Dispelling Palm. Both the Celestial Profound Finger and the Cloud-Dispelling Palm were Innate Martial Skills. However, Long Yulang was an Innate Martial Artist, so the Innate Martial Skill he executed was far more powerful than Long Ao's.

The outcome was never in doubt.

Long Ao's Celestial Profound Finger was completely unable to block Long Yulang's Cloud-Dispelling Palm. Spiritual Power surged through Long Yulang's palm and instantly invaded Long Ao's body, crashing into him like a tidal wave, one surge after another.

SPURT! He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the next moment, a palm strike sent him flying.

"Brother Long, kill him for me."

When they heard Liu Ji's words, fury was written on the faces of every member of the Red Fire Town Long Family. Yet no one dared to step forward and object. After all, her status was undeniable—she was from the City Lord's Mansion, the foremost of Thundercloud City's four great powers. Who in all of Thundercloud City would dare provoke the City Lord's Mansion?

"You're Liu Ji?"

Staring at the heavyset woman who had suddenly appeared before her, Liu Ji's face filled with disgust as she retorted, "What if I am?"

SMACK! Before Liu Ji could even react, a heavy slap struck her across the face. Her shriek was instantly drowned out by the sound of more slaps landing, one after another.

The heavyset woman who had appeared out of nowhere was none other than Long Ao's fiancée, Wang Yuyin. She didn't care if the other girl was the young lady of the City Lord's Mansion; she just walked up and unleashed a flurry of slaps.

"That's brutal."

Watching the heavyset young woman slapping away relentlessly, everyone was dumbfounded. They never imagined someone in Thundercloud City would actually dare to provoke the City Lord's Mansion. Mu Lin was also given a huge fright and immediately pulled Wang Yuyin away. She knew her future daughter-in-law's temper all too well; for Ao'er's sake, she might have actually slapped Liu Ji to death.

"You bitch, you just wait! I'll get my revenge! I will definitely get my revenge!"

This farce didn't last for very long. After all, the main event was not these two, but Long Yulang and Long Ao.

The Innate Martial Skill, Cloud-Dispelling Palm—one strike after another, each more powerful than the last. Afterimages of his palms filled the sky like a vast spiderweb. In just a few short seconds, Long Ao was struck no less than thirty times.

He coughed up blood uncontrollably, but he was powerless to retaliate. The gap between a Postnatal Martial Artist and an Innate Martial Artist was simply too vast. The Spiritual Power wielded by an Innate practitioner alone was more than a Postnatal fighter could ever hope to withstand.

"Trash, kneel before me, kowtow three times, and say 'I was wrong,' and I'll spare your life."

"In your dreams."

Gritting his teeth against the pain wracking his body, Long Ao continued to brandish his Blood-Drinking Mad Saber, determined to hold on.

"I'll give you one last chance. Are you going to kneel or not?"

"Screw you!" Long Ao retorted, swinging his saber in a vicious backhand slash. He clenched his jaw and, against all odds, remained standing. By now, however, he was a man drenched in gore, as if he had been bathed in blood.

No matter how many times he was struck, Long Ao remained on his feet, refusing to kneel. Watching the blood-soaked, defiant young man, everyone in the crowd was moved. Some even began to feel a sense of pity for him, which grew into a sliver of admiration.

"Ao'er, give up."

Watching his son, who was covered in blood yet still refused to give up, Long Yi looked devastated. But this was a fair duel, and he could not interfere. Long Ao, however, stubbornly shook his head and said in a cold voice, "A Martial Artist would rather die on his feet than live on his knees."

A Martial Artist would rather die on his feet than live on his knees.

Upon hearing this, someone in the crowd shouted, "Well said!" Immediately, applause and cheers erupted from all around. The crowd roared its approval for this stubborn, unyielding young man who would rather die standing than live kneeling.

"A fine 'rather die on his feet than live on his knees.' Long Ao, you're courting death yourself. You can't blame anyone else."

At that very moment, as he was being pushed to the brink by Long Yulang, the three Spirit Gathering Pills he had taken earlier began to rapidly fuse within his body. Aided by Long Fu, he seemed to break through a critical point—the so-called bottleneck.

A subtle suction force began to emanate from the surface of Long Ao's body, drawing in the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. It was a phenomenon familiar to everyone present.

"He's absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!"

Someone cried out in alarm. Looks of pure shock appeared on everyone's faces as they stared at the young man in disbelief. This was especially true for Long Yulang, who looked utterly incredulous.

'He's absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Doesn't that mean he's breaking through to the Innate Realm?'

'A breakthrough in the middle of a battle?'

Naturally, Long Yulang couldn't accept this. The surrounding crowd, however, had already gone wild. They clapped with excitement and joy, as if praying for the young man to successfully break through to the Innate Realm.

"Impossible, this is impossible! How did this piece of trash do it?"

Long Yulang's expression turned icy cold. 'Strike while the enemy is vulnerable,' he thought. 'This kid can actually break through in the middle of a fight. That alone proves his talent and potential. If I let him live, it'll be like raising a tiger that will one day come back to bite me. To save myself future trouble, I have to eradicate him, root and stem.'

"Since you're unwilling to kneel, then I'll grant your wish and let you die on your feet."

"Long Yulang, do you have any shame at all? To think you'd take advantage of someone's vulnerable state!"

Just then, Wang Yuyin, who had returned from just outside the Pill Alliance, saw Long Yulang about to take advantage of the situation. She immediately darted forward, shielding Long Ao with her body and completely ignoring the fact that she was facing an Innate Martial Artist.

"Way to go!"

"Tough girl, you're our idol!"

"Hmph. Long Ao is trash, and so are you. Don't say I didn't warn you. This is a fair duel. If you insist on interfering, then I'll have no choice but to kill you both."

Boundless Killing Intent filled Long Yulang's eyes, growing even more intense when he saw Long Ao absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Just as Wang Yuyin was about to say something, Long Ao, who had been motionless until now, suddenly patted her on the shoulder with his right hand. His voice was firm as he said, "Yuyin, leave this guy to me."