War God Long Ao

It would only take a day to refine Gui Lie's soul into a Soul Slave. Long Ao was curious and excited to see what kind of power the Soul Slave would possess.

This brush with death made Long Ao realize one thing: even though his Cultivation had broken through to the Hundred Scattered Heaven Realm, it was still far from enough. There were simply too many people who could threaten his life.

'Strength,' Long Ao thought. 'I have to break through from the Hundred Scattered Heaven Realm to the One-Line Heaven Realm as quickly as possible, condensing all the Spiritual Power in my body into a single point within my Dantian.'

After quickly disposing of the man in black's body, Long Ao didn't linger and turned to head back to his family estate.

「The Long Family Estate.」

"I've already told you, Ao'Er was invited to be a guest of the City Lord. He isn't here. If you have a message for him, you can just tell me. I'll be sure to pass it along when he returns."

Long Yi looked at the stern young man before him, inwardly astonished. As an Inner Strength Tenth Heaven Martial Artist, he could clearly sense the Innate Aura emanating from the man. 'This means he's an Innate Martial Artist.'

Ye Gucheng, his expression stern, shook his head and said coldly, "I'll wait right here."

"Ye Gucheng?"

Just as he stepped into the Long Family estate, Long Ao was surprised to see Ye Gucheng standing in the courtyard. He didn't have a very favorable impression of this so-called genius from the Hundred Battles Ranking.

"Ao'Er, you're back?"

"Yes, Father. It's alright. Let me handle this."

"Alright." Long Yi knew his son was a completely different person now. 'This is a matter between Innate Martial Artists. Even I have no right to interfere. Such is the gap between a Postnatal and an Innate Martial Artist.'

Only Long Ao and Ye Gucheng remained in the Long Family courtyard. Their expressions were both stern, and terrifying Innate Auras radiated from their bodies, clashing in the air between them. Before a single blow was struck, their battle intent already surged to the heavens.

A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes. "It's hard to believe you reached the Hundred Scattered Heaven Realm in just a few short months," Ye Gucheng said with a hint of admiration. "But I'll tell you this: trash will always be trash. I can defeat you in a matter of minutes."

"Trash? If a piece of trash can defeat you, wouldn't that make you even worse than trash?"

Long Ao could clearly sense his opponent's true strength. 'Peak of Hundred Scattered Heaven, but he hasn't broken through to the One-Line Heaven Realm yet.'

This made Long Ao all the more curious about the hundred or so people on the Hundred Battles Ranking. 'After all, Ye Gucheng is only ranked ninety-sixth. Does that mean the ninety-five people ahead of him are all One-Line Heaven Martial Artists, a Realm above Hundred Scattered Heaven?'

"You think you can defeat me?"

Hearing this, Ye Gucheng let out a mocking laugh, full of disdain and contempt, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"Ye Gucheng, I am formally challenging you now. Do you dare to accept?"

"Hahaha! Why wouldn't I dare? I'd like to see just how a piece of trash like you plans to defeat me. Long Ao, don't think you're invincible just because you beat Brother Long. I'm going to show you what a real gap in power looks like."

Two Copper Hammers appeared in his hands. Ye Gucheng sneered, "In this battle between us, life and death will be left to fate. If you can defeat me, the ninety-sixth spot on the Hundred Battles Ranking is yours. But if you lose, I'll break all of your limbs."

The Hundred Battles Ranking.

The Celestial Martial Continent was divided into the Nine Provinces of Kyushu, and each province had its own Hundred Battles Ranking. Any Martial Artist under the age of forty could vie for a spot on it. The fastest and simplest way to get on the ranking was to challenge someone already on it. Succeed, and you would immediately take their place.

The Hundred Battles Ranking was a list created and maintained by the Heaven and Earth Sect. If Long Ao could defeat Ye Gucheng, the Heaven and Earth Sect would automatically add his name to the ranking, placing him at ninety-sixth.

A day later, the official records listing the hundred-plus individuals on the ranking would be updated, replacing Ye Gucheng's name with Long Ao's.

Every young Martial Artist dreamed of earning a spot on the Hundred Battles Ranking. However, for those who issued a challenge, there was typically only one outcome for failure: a merciless death.

Because of this, no one would dare challenge a ranked member without absolute confidence and overwhelming strength. The nine Hundred Battles Rankings of Kyushu, when combined, represented the very strongest of the Celestial Martial Continent's younger generation.

"Ye Gucheng, I will take your place as ninety-sixth on the Hundred Battles Ranking."

"Good. Very good. Excellent."

At the Peak of Hundred Scattered Heaven and only a single step from breaking through to the One-Line Heaven Realm, Ye Gucheng was completely confident he could defeat—or even kill—his opponent. In his eyes, even if Long Ao had managed to reach the Hundred Scattered Heaven Realm and defeat Long Yulang, trash was still trash.

As ninety-sixth on the Hundred Battles Ranking, Ye Gucheng had earned the right to his arrogance.

Neither man spoke further. They stared at each other coldly, their battle intent clashing in the space between them.

'To be ranked ninety-sixth on the Hundred Battles Ranking, Ye Gucheng really isn't all talk,' Long Ao thought, a little surprised. From the battle intent his opponent was releasing, he could sense Ye Gucheng's deep comprehension of Martial Arts.

In the Long Family's inner courtyard, a large crowd had already gathered.

Long Yi, Mu Lin, and the others had all rushed over after hearing the news. As for Wang Yuyin, she had been urgently summoned back to the Wang Family for unknown reasons.

Everyone in the Long Family had complete confidence in Long Ao. After all, he was the family's only Innate Martial Artist. It was because of his rise that the Long Family had been elevated from its original Ninth Level status to the Eighth Level.

In other words, the Long Family of Red Fire Town was no longer a Ninth Level Clan, but an Eighth Level Clan. This was all thanks to Long Ao's sudden rise to prominence.

Suddenly, both Long Ao and Ye Gucheng moved. As the ninety-sixth ranked expert on the Hundred Battles Ranking and a master at the Peak of Hundred Scattered Heaven, Ye Gucheng wielded his Copper Hammers and brought them smashing down with ferocious force.

Combined with an Innate Martial Skill, the power of the Copper Hammers was unstoppable. He swung them with the might of a tiger. Long Ao dodged, and Ye Gucheng's hammers smashed viciously into the earth. The force was so tremendous that it left two deep craters, and the very ground seemed to tremble.

Seeing Ye Gucheng's power, everyone from the Long Family was stunned. They realized the gap between two Innate Martial Artists could be this vast. Compared to Ye Gucheng, Long Yulang wasn't even in the same league.

"If you can withstand my Heaven-Sundering Eighteen Techniques, I'll take my own life on the spot." Ye Gucheng had absolute faith in this technique. The Heaven-Sundering Eighteen Techniques was a top-tier Innate Martial Skill. He believed that unless he faced a One-Line Heaven Martial Artist, no one could possibly block it.

With a cold snort, Long Ao didn't even bother to respond. He simply unleashed the Netherworld Nine-Link Strike with the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber in his hand.