War God Long Ao

Long Ao slew Ye Yidao, placing him eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking.

Long Ao's meteoric rise sent shockwaves through the Celestial State.

Ye Yidao's death left the Flame Royal Family stunned and utterly furious. If not for their wariness of the Thunder Empire and the Ghost King Sect, they surely would have acted long ago.

The Celestial Martial Continent was comprised of the nine regions of Kyushu, and each region had its own Hundred Battles Ranking.

Across all of Kyushu, anyone who made it onto a Hundred Battles Ranking was a prodigious talent. This was doubly true for someone who had broken into the top twenty, let alone claimed the eleventh spot.

When Long Ao first entered the Hundred Battles Ranking, many hopefuls challenged him, seeking to make a name for themselves by taking his place.

However, after Long Ao claimed the eleventh spot on the Hundred Battles Ranking, no one dared to challenge him again. While many might not have known the true extent of Long Ao's power, Ye Yidao's fearsome reputation was common knowledge. One only had to ask: how strong must a person be to slay Ye Yidao? The answer was self-evident.

The buzz from Long Ao slaying Ye Yidao and claiming the eleventh spot on the Hundred Battles Ranking had yet to die down when new reports began to spread like wildfire across the Celestial State: Long Ao had killed Tang Lin, the Hall Master of the Nebula National Protection Hall, along with Vice Hall Master Yang Yi and several of its members.

All who heard this news were aghast. Everyone was thinking the same thing: 'Even if Long Ao can slay Ye Yidao and rank eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking, is he really so arrogant?'

Regardless of the circumstances, wiping out eighty percent of the National Protection Hall's personnel—including its Hall Master and Vice Hall Master—was tantamount to destroying the very backbone of the Nebula Kingdom.

Everyone could imagine that the Nebula Kingdom must now hate Long Ao to its very core.

Any other kingdom would have surely chosen to compromise. After all, Long Ao was no longer the person he once was. Would an ordinary kingdom dare to provoke a genius who could slay Ye Yidao and was rising so forcefully?

「Nebula Kingdom, Nebula City.」

Three days after leaving Red Fire Town, Long Ao arrived outside Nebula City.

He had just slaughtered members of the Nebula National Protection Hall, yet he still dared to come to Nebula City. If anyone else knew what he was doing, they would surely call him an idiot.

Gazing at Nebula City, now just a stone's throw away, Long Ao's face was a mask of determination. He had come here with only one purpose: to completely settle the score between himself and the Nebula Royal Family.

Long Ao knew that after he had killed Tang Lin, Yang Yi, and the others, the Nebula Royal Family would not let the matter rest, even if he hadn't come to them.

Rather than wait for them to act, it was better to strike first.

That was precisely why Long Ao had decided to come to Nebula City.

Long Ao finally took a step forward and entered Nebula City. The moment he did, the Nebula Royal Family was alerted to his movements. To be more precise, they had been tracking him ever since he left Red Fire Town.

Yet the Nebula Royal Family made no move, acting as if nothing had happened.

「The Fifth Level Long Family.」

Upon entering Nebula City, Long Ao's first stop was not the Nebula Royal Family but the Fifth Level Long Family. Before he could resolve his feud with the royals, he first had to settle his score with this branch of his clan.

「The Long Family, Front Courtyard.」

Seeing Long Ao suddenly appear, Long Ying's expression turned exceedingly grim, as he had already guessed the purpose of this visit.

In the past, Long Ying wouldn't have given Long Ao a second thought, but now, the situation was completely different.

Someone capable of slaying Ye Yidao and ranking eleventh on the Hundred Battles Ranking... Long Ying had already guessed Long Ao's current strength. 'He's a Unity Martial Artist. Who in our family could possibly stand against him?'

"Long Ao."

"Long Ying, you'd best shut your mouth. If you have any honor as a Martial Artist, you won't deny what you did."

Long Ying stared deeply at the white-haired young man before him and said fiercely, "That's right. I was the one who spread the news that you are a Dragon Martial Artist. So what?"

At Long Ying's admission, Long Ao felt a surprising flicker of admiration. He wasn't particularly angry. After all, he had killed Long Ming; it would have been more surprising if Long Ying had done nothing in response.

"Long Ao, our Long Family had no quarrel with you, yet you killed Long Ming and shattered our hope of rising! Was I not supposed to seek revenge?"

Long Ao gave a helpless, scornful laugh. "Long Ying, I've met shameless people before, but never anyone as shameless as you. A pig is at least useful after it's been butchered, but you're just worthless for a lifetime. If I were you, I'd just go and die."

"You..."

"Long Ying, you know exactly what happened better than anyone. Long Ming came after me time and time again. Was I supposed to just endure it forever? You may be an idiot, but I'm not. Long Ming brought his death upon himself."

With his shock of white hair and black robes, the youth stood alone, an arrogant and solitary figure, his gaze icily fixed forward.

Long Ying's fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, his face a mask of fury and resentment.

'Long Ming... He was the family's hope, their everything.' Long Ying could clearly imagine it: once Long Ming matured, he would have undoubtedly led the family to soar to new heights.

But all of that was now shattered, and the culprit was standing right before him. That was why Long Ying had been willing to risk Long Ao's wrath to spread the secret of him being a Dragon Martial Artist.

But what Long Ying had never expected was that after the news got out, it was like a stone dropped into the ocean—it vanished without a trace. The branches of the Long Clan at the Third Level and above simply didn't believe it.

Fury. Resentment.

"Long Ao, have you come here to destroy my family?"

"I have no quarrel with the Long Family. I came today with a single purpose. If you kill yourself here and now, the feud between me and your family will be wiped clean."

Humiliation. As the Patriarch of a Fifth Level Long Family, Long Ying felt an endless, profound shame. But he was powerless. Long Ying knew his own limits; with his current strength, he was no match for the young man before him.

Long Ying knew all too well what the consequences would be if he refused to take his own life.

"Long Ao, if I refuse, will you really annihilate my family?"

"I will show no mercy."

"Hahaha! Long Ao, do you really think you're invincible? I can tell you this much: if you dare to destroy my family, the Long Clan will never let you off the hook. Try it and see if you don't believe me."

Long Ao was already aware of this. The Star Cloud Long Family was, after all, a Fifth Level Clan. If he were to slaughter them, the main Long Clan would certainly hold him accountable. In the eyes of the Long Clan, all branches were one family. They had a strict, explicit rule: branch families, regardless of their level, were forbidden from slaughtering one another. Violators would be punished.

This was the source of Long Ying's confidence. He believed that even if he didn't kill himself, Long Ao wouldn't dare to slaughter his family. 'Since that's the case,' he thought, 'why should I kill myself?'

Long Ao didn't get angry. He just smiled and said, "Long Ying, I can kill you in under ten moves. Do you believe me?"

It was utter contempt, but Long Ao had the power to back it up. Of that, Long Ying was painfully aware.