War God Long Ao

The six Unity Martial Artists of the Ye Family were slaughtered in a single night?

The next day, upon receiving the news, the major powers all began to speculate on who was responsible.

After much consideration, all suspicion fell on Long Ao.

The reason was simple: before Long Ao entered Flame City, everything had been peaceful and quiet. But the moment he set foot in the city, before even a single night had passed, something like this occurred.

With the Ye Family's experts all but wiped out, the other two great families—the Wei Family and the Linghu Family—were ecstatic. However, given the current situation, it wasn't a good time for them to make a move against the Ye Family.

Long Ao's sudden arrival in Flame City had, one might say, stirred up a storm.

Anyone could imagine the caliber of a person capable of stealthily assassinating six Unity Martial Artists without a trace. Everyone knew with even greater certainty that the strength of this man, the one who had killed Ye Yidao, had likely grown even stronger.

The Flame Royal Family remained silent, and naturally, the Wei and Linghu Families said nothing either.

As for the Ye Family, they had no choice but to suffer in silence. Because of this, the matter of their six Unity Martial Artists being assassinated vanished as if a stone dropped into the ocean, leaving no trace behind.

「The next day, Dongfang Suo paid a personal visit.」

"Crown Prince Dongfang, you were looking for me?"

In the vast restaurant, only Long Ao and Dongfang Suo were present. After all, Dongfang Suo's status in Flame City was something few could match. Barring any surprises, he was certain to be the next Emperor of the Flame Empire.

"Brother Long, these should be the medicinal ingredients you wanted. There are twenty-five types in total. Please see if anything is missing."

Looking at the dense array of medicinal herbs on the floor, how could Long Ao, an Alchemist, fail to recognize them?

"Crown Prince Dongfang, I've already told you, I was only joking yesterday."

Dongfang Suo smiled. "Brother Long, I wasn't joking. Please consider these medicinal herbs a gift. Don't worry, I won't ask you to repay this favor."

Dongfang Suo's words seemed like a joke, but they carried a hidden meaning.

Long Ao was no fool; of course he understood the man's implication. But since things had already come to this, he couldn't very well refuse.

He nodded, moved all the medicinal herbs from the floor into his Dragon Seal Space, and said, "Thank you."

"Brother Long, since you consider me a friend, there's something I'd like to ask. The six from the Ye Family… was it your doing?"

Long Ao gave Dongfang Suo a long, hard look. After a moment's thought, he finally nodded in admission. "I was simply giving them a taste of their own medicine. You can't blame me for that."

"Brother Long, you aren't to blame. The Ye Family brought all of this on themselves."

Hearing this, Long Ao grew even more puzzled. 'What does he really mean by that? Does the Flame Royal Family have some grudge against the Ye Family?'

Although he had never been to Flame City before, Long Ao had some understanding of the Flame Empire. In Flame City, the Flame Royal Family was the undisputed hegemon, and they preferred to have the three great families keep each other in check.

As if sensing Long Ao's thoughts, Dongfang Suo smiled and said, "Brother Long, in Flame City, the three great families do keep each other in check. But, I won't hide this from you, the rapid growth of the three families has begun to seriously threaten the Royal Family."

Long Ao said nothing, listening quietly.

"The Ye, Wei, and Linghu Families—especially in recent years—have all been building up their forces. If not for the Thunder Sect backing them, I believe the three great families would have rebelled long ago instead of waiting until now."

"And?"

"Brother Long, I consider you a true friend, so I'll be direct: I want to become the Emperor of the Flame Empire."

"And what of it?"

Long Ao grew even more curious. 'What does his desire to be Emperor have to do with me? Does he think that giving me a few medicinal herbs is enough to make me interfere in the Flame Empire's affairs?'

Although Long Ao was confident in his own abilities, the Flame Empire was a behemoth. With his current strength, it was impossible to shake it, let alone influence an imperial succession.

"Brother Long, I hope to have your help."

"Crown Prince Dongfang, you overestimate me. I'm just a humble Martial Artist. If you need me to fight other Martial Artists, I might be able to help. But helping you vie for the throne? I'm afraid that's beyond my abilities."

"Brother Long, you absolutely can. I believe you have the strength. I will arrange for you to enter the Flame National Protection Hall and help you become its Hall Master. As long as you can secure that position, I will have a chance to become Emperor ahead of schedule."

After a moment of thought, Long Ao instantly understood Dongfang Suo's plan.

In the Flame Empire, aside from the Emperor himself, the Flame National Protection Hall held the most power. At times, the Hall could even influence the imperial succession.

It all made sense now. The Flame National Protection Hall was, after all, the gathering place for all the most powerful Martial Artists in the entire Flame Empire. Controlling the National Protection Hall was equivalent to controlling the Empire's martial might.

'Dongfang Suo had certainly made a clever calculation.'

"Brother Dongfang, while I consider you a friend, I'm afraid I can't agree to join the Flame National Protection Hall. I value my freedom. If I didn't, I wouldn't have refused the Thunder National Protection Hall back then."

This was true. The Thunder National Protection Hall had once extended an olive branch to him, and he had rejected it outright. 'Wouldn't it be ridiculous to refuse the Thunder Empire only to turn around and accept the Flame Empire's offer?'

Dongfang Suo looked as if he wanted to say more, but Long Ao cut in first. "Crown Prince Dongfang, joining the Flame National Protection Hall is out of the question. However, if you need help with other things in the future, I can assist. How does that sound?"

Since things had come to this, Dongfang Suo knew it was impossible for Long Ao to join the National Protection Hall. He smiled and said, "Alright, Brother Long. Tonight, we drink until we drop!"

It had to be said, Dongfang Suo was truly an impressive figure. For the rest of their time together, neither man brought up the matter of the throne again. They drank and chatted about everything under the sun, and the mood was pleasant.

Long Ao felt he now had a better understanding of Dongfang Suo. The man hid a knife behind his smile, yet he also possessed a certain genuine character. The two of them drank for a full day and night, only stopping the following morning.

News of Long Ao drinking with Crown Prince Dongfang had already spread throughout Flame City. Now, even more people grew suspicious of Long Ao's background—first his association with Linghu Ning, and now with Dongfang Suo.

Long Ao had now, for all intents and purposes, become famous in Flame City.

Dongfang Suo had just left when Linghu Ning and Bing Hun arrived. Upon finding Long Ao, Bing Hun got straight to the point. "Brother Long, here are all the medicinal ingredients you need. If you have no other business here, you should leave the Flame Empire as soon as possible. And remember, unless it's absolutely necessary, you'd best not enter Flame City again."

Seeing how grave Bing Hun and Linghu Ning looked, Long Ao was confused. "What exactly is going on?" he asked.