War God Long Ao

Staring at the two Spirit Gathering Pills in the young man's hand, the fatty seemed unwilling to believe it and had someone specially verify their authenticity.

"Are these two Spirit Gathering Pills real? And what's their quality?"

Liu Mu also seemed surprised. His face was full of admiration, but he directed his question to the fatty.

Even if a part of him was a million times unwilling to admit it, the facts were right in front of him, and he couldn't just spout nonsense. With a bitter smile, the fatty said, "They are indeed Spirit Gathering Pills, and of superior quality."

'Real Spirit Gathering Pills? And of superior quality?'

Hearing the fatty's words, everyone was stunned. They couldn't make sense of the situation. How could Long Ao refine Spirit Gathering Pills in just one short month, and superior quality ones at that?

Ever since the bet between Long Ao and the Pill Alliance was made, many people had been inquiring about his activities. Without exception, the news they received was all the same: Long Ao was not an Alchemist at all. He had just bought a few books on elixirs a month ago and had only begun to study alchemy.

It was precisely for this reason that everyone was so shocked. After all, Alchemists were different from Martial Artists. To become an Alchemist, talent accounted for ninety-five percent of it. 'Could Long Ao be an alchemy genius?'

"Long Ao, here is one Spirit Gathering Pill and one Celestial Essence Pill. I have to admit, you are truly an alchemy prodigy. If you're willing, I will immediately report to headquarters and invite you to join the Pill Alliance. What do you say?"

It had to be said, the fatty's shamelessness had reached a new level. Seeing that his opponent had successfully refined Spirit Gathering Pills in just one month, his attitude did a complete one-eighty as he invited him to join the Pill Alliance.

Everyone turned to look at Long Ao, wondering if this young man from the Long Family—once called trash, but now clearly a genius—would accept the fatty's invitation.

With a sidelong glance, Long Ao put away the two Spirit Gathering Pills he had just refined, along with the Spirit Gathering Pill and Celestial Essence Pill he had won. He said coolly, "How could a grand temple like yours possibly house a piece of trash like me? Farewell."

Without the slightest hesitation, Long Ao refused, turned, and left the Pill Alliance.

He left the fatty standing there awkwardly with a bitter smile, not knowing what to say. A short while later, everyone else had departed one by one.

'Hmph, an alchemy genius? I hope you don't end up as an alchemy fiend.'

After returning to the Long Family estate, Long Ao did not appear before the crowd. Instead, he immediately went to his room to recuperate. Although the recent battle was a life-and-death struggle, it was not without its rewards.

His cultivation had successfully broken through to the Innate Realm. He just needed to consolidate it a little to formally stabilize his foundation in the Innate Realm.

Long Ao had never expected this sudden breakthrough. Feeling the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi flooding his limbs and bones, he felt an indescribable sense of power and exhilaration.

'Why is Long Yancheng's strength so formidable?'

Long Ao was very curious about this. He didn't understand why the gap was so large when they were both in the Innate Realm.

Not dwelling on it, Long Ao sat down quietly and began circulating the Celestial Profound Nine Transformations within his Ninth Transformation Reincarnation Technique. This breakthrough had allowed the Celestial Profound Nine Transformations to directly complete the fourth transformation, enabling him to absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

「The next morning.」

Long Ao left the Long Family estate early to head for the City Lord's Mansion. Although he still didn't know why City Lord Liu Mu had stepped in to help him, and despite whatever unpleasantness existed between him and Liu Ji, Liu Mu had indeed helped him.

Thundercloud City had four major powers: the City Lord's Mansion, the Duanmu Family, the Mu Family, and the Long Family. Of these four, the City Lord's Mansion was the leader. The other three great families did not dare to provoke the City Lord's Mansion, as it was backed by the Celestial Star Kingdom.

In the rear courtyard pavilion of the City Lord's Mansion, the atmosphere was elegant and tranquil. The pavilion was surrounded by a lotus pond, and a faint, sweet fragrance drifted into one's nose. A gentle sniff was enough to make one's body feel much more at ease.

"How do you find it?"

"It's a fine place for peaceful self-cultivation."

Liu Mu was the picture of scholarly elegance, gently fanning himself with a folding fan. A faint, unreadable smile played on his lips. He took a light sip of tea before speaking. "The trash everyone mocked persevered for a full ten years. That persistence alone is worthy of admiration."

Long Ao just smiled and said nothing.

"Ten years of persistence, ten years of effort, have finally paid off. I always thought your Martial Arts talent was impressive, but I never imagined your alchemy talent would be even more incredible. To be able to refine Spirit Gathering Pills in just one month... your talent for alchemy is the greatest I have ever seen."

Long Ao still just smiled, remaining silent, because he didn't know what Liu Mu was getting at.

"Long Ao, in your battle with Long Yulang, your cultivation successfully broke through to the Innate Realm. When you faced an expert like Long Yancheng, did you feel a sense of powerlessness?"

Nodding, Long Ao didn't try to hide anything. "Yes. Why is that?"

"Since you are already an Innate Martial Artist, there's no need for me to hide it from you. The truth is, there are different levels of strength within the Innate Realm. You've just broken through, so you are at what is called the Hundred Scattered Heaven. When all the Spiritual Power in your body gathers in your Dantian, converges to a single point, and then fills the acupoints, you reach One-Line Heaven. Both Long Yancheng and I belong to that realm."

'Hundred Scattered Heaven? One-Line Heaven?'

Long Ao had long guessed that there were different levels within the Innate Realm. Otherwise, with his strength, why would he have felt so helpless against Long Yancheng? So it turned out that both Long Yancheng and Liu Mu had already reached One-Line Heaven.

"City Lord, I'd like to ask, how does one break through from Hundred Scattered Heaven to One-Line Heaven?"

"When your cultivation breaks through to the Innate Realm, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi enters your body, forming Spiritual Power that spreads through your limbs and bones. This stage is considered Hundred Scattered Heaven. To advance, you must force all of that power into your Dantian, gather it into a single point, and then begin to fill the one hundred and eight acupoints in your body. The more acupoints you fill, the stronger you become. Long Ao, this may sound simple, but it is actually very difficult. It took me a full three years to break through from Hundred Scattered Heaven to One-Line Heaven."

'Three years?'

Long Ao knew that for Liu Mu to break through from Hundred Scattered Heaven to One-Line Heaven in three years, his own talent must be quite considerable. He was very curious just how many acupoints Long Yancheng and Liu Mu had managed to fill.

Although curious, Long Ao didn't ask. After all, that was a personal secret. Unless the other party brought it up first, there was no need for him to pry. It was better to be tactful.

"Long Ao, your bet with the Pill Alliance won you a Celestial Essence Pill. This elixir is very useful for Hundred Scattered Heaven Martial Artists; taking it can, at the very least, shorten the time it takes to gather your Spiritual Power. However, I must warn you. That fatty is a very insidious person. This time, you publicly caused him to lose the bet and also refused to join the Pill Alliance. I'm certain he won't let this matter go."

"Thank you for the warning, City Lord. I'll face whatever he throws at me. If he dares to come, I'll dare to kill him."