War God Long Ao

Ao Tian's intention was clear. He wanted Long Ao to take refuge with the Ghost King Sect, which would keep the Blood Sea Sect from acting rashly.

But would Long Ao agree?

The answer was obvious: Long Ao would certainly refuse.

Such was Long Ao's character. The more he fought, the more courageous he became. Nothing could intimidate him, not even the Blood Sea Sect.

Shaking his head, Long Ao spoke with a resolute expression, "Thank you, Uncle Ao Tian, but I hope to resolve my own matters myself. The Blood Sea Sect will be my next target."

Not the least bit surprised, Ao Tian seemed to approve. "Good," he said. "It's getting late, we should be going. If you need anything in the future, come find me at the Ghost Sect."

Pulling along a reluctant Ao Xue, Ao Tian suddenly added, "Long Ao, remember this: if you want to marry Ao Xue, your current strength is far from sufficient."

Watching the two figures gradually disappear, Long Ao felt no sense of defeat. Instead, he clenched his fists and told himself, 'I will make the entire world know that I, Long Ao, am the strongest.'

Ever since learning of the Five Transformations that lay beyond the Innate Realm, Long Ao had become even more diligent in his cultivation. He knew that with his current strength, he hadn't even reached the peak of the Innate Realm, let alone the Five Transformations.

The Postnatal Realm, the Five Innate Realms, and the Five Transformations.

Soon after, news of Long Ao slaying Long Ming somehow spread throughout the entire Celestial State.

One must understand, Long Ming had been ranked seventieth on the Hundred Battles Ranking. Now that Long Ao had defeated him, it meant that from this day forward, Long Ao would take his place as the new number seventy.

When this news broke, it sent shockwaves through the entire Celestial State.

Long Ao was now the most talked-about youth in Celestial State. He had risen meteorically in just a few short months, fighting his way from Red Fire Town all the way to Thunder City. He had not only seized second place in the city's tournament but had now also become the seventieth-ranked figure on the Hundred Battles Ranking.

The Hundred Battles Ranking.

The Celestial Martial Continent was divided into the Nine States, or Kyushu. Each state had its own Hundred Battles Ranking, and Celestial State was no exception. With one ranking per state, Kyushu had nine Hundred Battles Rankings in total.

The Hundred Battles Ranking was a list that only Martial Artists under the age of forty could vie for.

It was considered the most prestigious ranking for the younger generation in each state, and every young Martial Artist dreamed of making the list to prove their worth to the world.

Long Ao had successfully become the seventieth-ranked person on the Hundred Battles Ranking, but this achievement brought with it an endless stream of challengers. After all, in this world, many people yearned for fame, and challenging someone on the Hundred Battles Ranking was the fastest way for a young Martial Artist to achieve it.

That's how people were; they often didn't think too deeply about things.

In the eyes of many, even though Long Ao had risen in just a few short months, he was still far too young. Combined with his former reputation as a good-for-nothing, this led many to challenge him continuously.

Long Ao showed no mercy to those who challenged him.

He understood a profound truth: failing to pull out the weeds by the roots would only bring endless trouble down the line.

「Red Fire Town.」

Red Fire Town had now been partitioned off, no longer belonging to the Nebula Kingdom. A small town without a kingdom's protection would normally be eyed greedily by others, but at this moment, Red Fire Town was exceptionally safe. This was because it was home to a powerfully rising youth. Not only that, but the Ghost King Sect had already announced to the world that no one, no matter who they were, was permitted to harm the Long Family of Red Fire Town.

The ones who regretted this most of all were the Nebula Kingdom. Even now, Tang Lin and Ouyang Feng were still reeling, unable to comprehend when Long Ao had established a connection with the Ghost King Sect. The sect was even willing to have a complete falling out with the Blood Sea Sect just to protect him.

Everyone knew exactly what the Ghost King Sect represented.

As one of the Six Great Sects of Celestial State, the Ghost King Sect's power was second only to the Flame Sect and the Thunder Sect. If the Nebula Kingdom had managed to gain the Ghost King Sect's support, how could it have failed to prosper?

But there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Ouyang Feng knew that continuing to try and win over Long Ao was a near-impossible task, but he still hadn't given up. He dispatched Ouyang Fei to Red Fire Town in an attempt to ease the tensions between them.

In the end, Long Ao agreed to meet with Ouyang Fei.

But Long Ao's message was simple. He considered Ouyang Fei a big brother, but that had nothing to do with the Nebula Kingdom, which he refused to even mention.

And so, with a deep sigh, Ouyang Fei departed. From that day on, Red Fire Town was considered to have completely broken away from the Nebula Kingdom, becoming its own independent territory.

In Long Ao's view, it would be extremely difficult for Red Fire Town to survive, let alone thrive, with its current strength. The only solution was development.

Whether for a town or a city, development couldn't be achieved through strength alone; it required massive amounts of Gold Coins. However, the Long Family of today was a far cry from its former self. With their resources and the support of everyone in town, Red Fire Town underwent a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation in just a few short months.

Red Fire Town, the Long Family's main hall.

"Ao'Er, Red Fire Town is on the right track now. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, in ten years, our town should be able to develop into a city on par with Thundercloud City."

Nodding, Long Yi added in pleasant surprise, "I originally thought it would be impossible for Red Fire Town to survive after leaving the Nebula Kingdom. It seems we worried for nothing."

Seeing the joyful expressions on his father's and grandfather's faces, Long Ao felt a sense of happiness as well. He knew that only by making Red Fire Town strong could the Long Family become even stronger. Therefore, the town's development was an absolute must.

"Grandfather, Father, I'll leave the affairs of Red Fire Town in your hands. I'll be leaving soon to go out and gain more experience."

Neither was surprised. Both Long Haoshi and Long Yi knew that Ao'Er was no longer the child he once was. A true powerhouse could only grow through constant tempering.

"Ao'Er, be careful out there. Remember, the Long Family will always be your home. Whenever you get tired, just come back."

"I know."

Late that night, under a dark sky dotted with stars, Long Ao sat alone in his Little Courtyard House.

Given his current status in the Long Family, there was no need for him to continue living in the Little Courtyard House. But for some reason, Long Ao couldn't bring himself to leave it.

"Master, I've just tested it. The Soul Slaves cannot leave the Dragon Seal Space for too long, or they will be obliterated by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi."

Long Ao wasn't surprised to hear this. He had originally thought about leaving a few Soul Slaves behind to protect the family. That way, if something happened, he wouldn't be too far away to help. But now, it was clear that leaving the Soul Slaves was impossible.

It was too risky for the family to not have an expert guarding it. As he mulled it over, Long Ao's eyes suddenly lit up.