War God Long Ao

Huo Lang's intention was already crystal clear.

Everyone knew full well what it meant to be a Dragon Martial Artist.

That was precisely why the envoys from the Thunder Empire never expected the Flame Empire to actually send a Dragon Martial Artist to this clash between empires.

A Dragon Martial Artist?

The members of the Flame Empire exchanged glances. One of them said, "If our Flame Empire had a Dragon Martial Artist, we would have conquered Celestial State long ago. We wouldn't have waited all these years."

"Hmph."

With a cold snort, Huo Lang refused to believe a word they said. The two sides locked eyes, and then, suddenly, a massive brawl erupted. In all the years and countless clashes between the empires, this was the first time a full-blown melee had broken out.

「Somewhere on the battlefield.」

"Brother Long, I truly never imagined you were also a Dragon Martial Artist."

The thought that Long Ao was a Dragon Martial Artist was still hard for Bing Hun to believe. After all, only a Long Family of the Third Level or higher should have one. But Long Ao's family? It was merely a Sixth Level Long Family.

Since things had come to this, Long Ao decided not to hide it any longer.

"That's right. I am a Dragon Martial Artist, but this can't get out."

Bing Hun was no fool; she instantly understood. 'There must be something unusual about how he obtained his Dragon Companion.'

Long Ao didn't elaborate, and Bing Hun didn't press the issue. She knew some questions were better left unasked.

"Bing Hun, thank you for this."

"There's no need for thanks between friends."

"Bing Hun, colluding with the Thunder Empire... You've got some nerve." At that moment, a young man stepped out from behind a large tree. He looked to be in his late twenties, his stern face covered by a beard, and he had a burly build.

Seeing the stern young man who had suddenly appeared, Bing Hun's expression changed. "Ye Yidao, don't you dare slander me! I simply hit it off with Brother Long and we became friends, that's all. As for everyone else from the Thunder Empire, I'll still kill any I come across."

'Ye Yidao?'

Long Ao was familiar with that name. Ye Yidao was ranked eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking and was at the Peak of Unity Realm.

Long Ao knew that of the twenty Unity Martial Artists the Flame Empire had sent this time, Ye Yidao was the strongest.

"Hahaha! Bing Hun, don't bother trying to defend yourself. In normal times, who you befriend wouldn't be an issue. But now? You've clearly betrayed the Flame Empire, yet you still have the gall to argue."

Shaking his head, Ye Yidao made his stance clear: she was a traitor, and further excuses were pointless.

"Ye Yidao? Whether Bing Hun and I are friends is none of your business," Long Ao interjected.

"So you're Long Ao?"

"What if I am? And what if I'm not?"

Ye Yidao paid him no mind, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "Long Ao. Bing Hun. Both of you deserve to die, but I'll give you a chance. Come at me together."

Come at me together. Ye Yidao radiated immense confidence. He was at the Peak of Unity Realm, ranked eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking. His strength completely surpassed even Long Jing's.

Bing Hun was clearly infuriated. Just as she was about to strike, Long Ao stopped her.

Waving a dismissive hand, his face filled with contempt, Long Ao said, "Ye Yidao, I thought someone ranked eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking would be a true Martial Artist. But now, it seems you're just pathetic."

How could the ever-arrogant Ye Yidao endure being looked down upon by a mere Fusion Martial Artist? "Insolent!" With a roar, his body shot forward.

Unity Peak. Eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking.

Long Ao could well imagine the extent of Ye Yidao's power. For that very reason, he wasn't the least bit careless. He also didn't join forces with Bing Hun. This was a battle between Martial Artists. Even if he won by fighting two against one, Long Ao wouldn't feel right about it.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already clashed violently. Long Ao had silently unleashed his Soul-Sealing Seal, but to his astonishment, before it could even penetrate his opponent's body, it was driven back by another, even more terrifying and bizarre power.

Before Long Ao could even react, that power had already invaded his body and begun to viciously corrode his soul.

Greatly alarmed, he didn't dare to be careless for a second. He split his power in two—one part to resist the force corroding him, the other to block Ye Yidao's physical attacks.

Long Ao had always believed his Soul-Sealing Seal was the ultimate Martial Art for corroding souls, but now it seemed the old saying was true: there is always a higher mountain, a bigger sky.

"Long Ao, your reputation precedes you, but you're not all that impressive in person."

Long Ao didn't relax in the slightest. His expression turned cold as his hands finally began to form seals at a dizzying speed, flashing through more than a hundred different positions in an instant.

Nether Burning Seal—the second of the Eighteen Seals in the Destruction Seal Technique.

The Destruction Seal Technique comprised a total of Eighteen Seals. Long Fu had only taught Long Ao the first four: the Soul-Sealing Seal, the Nether Burning Seal, the Heaven-Burying Seal, and the Doomsday Seal.

The Soul-Sealing Seal specialized in corroding the soul.

The Nether Burning Seal, on the other hand, specialized in incinerating the soul, a fate akin to being cast into Hell.

Simply put, the Nether Burning Seal was a technique far superior to the Soul-Sealing Seal. Long Ao had been practicing it, but he had yet to master it. It also required an immense amount of Soul Power. At his current strength, he could barely manage to execute it, and he had to be extremely cautious. If it backfired, it wouldn't be his enemy's soul that was incinerated, but his own.

For this very reason, Long Ao would never use the Nether Burning Seal unless he had absolutely no other choice.

The power of the Nether Burning Seal surged forward like a tidal wave from the great sea.

The Nether Burning Seal was completely different from the Soul-Sealing Seal. The latter was silent and insidious, while the former was an all-out, overpowering assault.

Ye Yidao, who had been full of confidence just a moment ago, suddenly paled. His face filled with shock. Before he could even react, the Nether Burning Seal had slammed into his body and begun to frantically incinerate his soul.

But that wasn't all. Long Ao had unleashed not only the Nether Burning Seal, but also the Soul-Sealing Seal, which slipped silently into Ye Yidao's body. With the twin assault of the Nether Burning Seal and the Soul-Sealing Seal—one corroding his soul, the other incinerating it—Ye Yidao's soul was plunged into what felt like the depths of Hell in a single instant.

The power of the Soul-Sealing Seal and the Nether Burning Seal was simply too overwhelming. Ye Yidao had no energy left to fend off Long Ao's relentless physical attacks; he had to focus his entire being on resisting the terrifying, bizarre power that was corroding his soul from within.

Wielding the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber, Long Ao showed no mercy. With a swift motion, he unleashed the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques. The first technique, Netherworld Nine-Link Strike; the second, Ice-Sealed Heart Devourer; and the third, Sea of Blazing Flames. The three techniques stacked, and a Heaven-Shocking Blade Aura descended with brutal force.