War God Long Ao

Hearing Ao Xue's words, Ao Tian's expression turned incredibly grim.

Ao Tian didn't say a word, but his intentions were clear.

Zhang Mo sneered, his face filled with contempt and disdain. "Long Ao," he said, "coming here all by yourself... It seems you're quite confident in your own strength, are you?"

"What if I am?"

"Hahaha! Fine. I'll give you a chance right now. You will fight my son, Zhixiang. If you can defeat him, you'll be allowed to leave. How about it?"

A fight with Zhang Zhihang?

Hearing this, everyone burst into scornful laughter. They mocked him without restraint, because in their eyes, if Long Ao accepted the challenge, there was no doubt he would be killed by Zhang Zhihang.

Zhang Zhihang was a super genius of the Golden Sun Sect, ranked third on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, and an Earth Emperor Peak Martial Artist.

Long Ao was ranked third on the Hundred Battles Ranking, came from the Mortal World, and was merely a Transformed Martial Artist.

To put it simply, the two of them weren't even in the same league.

"Long Ao, I now formally issue you a challenge. Do you dare to accept?"

Zhang Zhihang was completely confident in his own strength. To him, a mere Transformed Martial Artist was less than nothing. He could kill his opponent in ten moves at most—in fact, he probably wouldn't even need that many.

Accept the challenge?

Everyone stopped talking and stared at Long Ao, the scorn and contempt on their faces growing even stronger.

A gentle breeze rustled by, causing Long Ao's white hair to dance wildly. Dressed in black robes with a head of white hair, Long Ao stood there, cool and proud. Just as everyone assumed he wouldn't dare to accept, his voice rang out.

"I accept."

I accept.

When they heard Long Ao agree to the fight, everyone began to mock him wildly. Their laughter was filled with disdain, because in their eyes, for Long Ao to accept the challenge was tantamount to suicide. He didn't stand a chance.

"Long Ao, don't."

With a confident smile, Long Ao said, "Ao Xue, don't worry. No matter what happens today, I will take you away from here."

"Go to hell!"

How could Zhang Zhihang stand to see Long Ao and Ao Xue acting so affectionately? With a furious roar, he charged forward, unleashing the immense Momentum of an Earth Emperor to suppress his foe.

It blotted out the sky, crashing down like a tsunami.

Long Ao didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless. After all, Zhang Zhihang's strength was undeniable—an Earth Emperor Peak, just one step away from ascending to the so-called Taoist Ancestor Realm.

The Five Transformations, from lowest to highest, were the Thunder Tribulation Realm, the Transformation Realm, the Human King Realm, the Earth Emperor Realm, and the Taoist Ancestor Realm.

Long Ao's current Cultivation had only just reached the First Transformation Realm. The gap between that and the Peak of Earth Emperor Realm was simply too vast. After all, a disparity in Realm was difficult to overcome with other means.

The Blood-Drinking Mad Saber appeared in his hand in an instant. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques, viciously slashing toward Zhang Zhihang.

The first four of the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques: the first technique, Netherworld Nine-Link Strike; the second, Ice-Sealed Heart Devourer; the third, Sea of Blazing Flames; and the fourth, World-Ending Blade Aura. When the four techniques were combined, their power layered and stacked. Even a Second Transformation Martial Artist, or perhaps a Third Transformation Martial Artist, would find it difficult to dodge.

But Zhang Zhihang was an Earth Emperor Peak Martial Artist. He didn't even bother to dodge, choosing to meet the attack head-on—and with his bare hands. Such was the confidence and conviction born from a massive gap in strength.

Fist and saber collided without a sound. Long Ao was sent flying by the punch, feeling an irresistible force travel up his blade. He didn't even have a chance to react.

Long Ao knew in his heart that this was the power of an Earth Emperor Martial Artist.

Shocked, Long Ao forced himself to flip over and land on his feet. His face betrayed no emotion, but a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Any discerning eye could already see who had won and who had lost this battle.

One move.

In just a single move, Zhang Zhihang had defeated Long Ao. He was truly worthy of his rank as the third strongest on the Wind and Cloud Ranking.

Everyone gazed at Zhang Zhihang with admiration. As for Long Ao, their expressions were the exact opposite—nothing but contempt and disdain.

"Long Ao, you should just leave."

Long Ao simply smiled and didn't answer her. He had already made up his mind before he arrived: no matter what happened, even if he had to die in the Ghost King Sect, he would take Ao Xue with him.

What joy was there in living? What was there to fear in death?

Zhang Zhihang's face was also full of mockery. He said contemptuously, "Long Ao, I thought your arrogance was backed by some real power. Turns out it was all just a bluff. You're truly shameless."

"If it weren't for your privileged birth, what would you be?"

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Zhang Zhihang suddenly threw his head back and roared with laughter, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

His expression suddenly turned cold. To reclaim his masculine dignity in front of Ao Xue, Zhang Zhihang said icily, "Long Ao, I'll give you one chance. Kneel here, admit you were wrong, and sever your own arms. I am a magnanimous man, so I'll let you go this time. Otherwise..."

Zhang Zhihang didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear. Under the circumstances, everyone could imagine what would happen if Long Ao refused. He would, one hundred percent, be obliterated by Zhang Zhihang on the spot.

It was a foregone conclusion.

'Kneel?'

As the saying goes, a man's knees are precious as gold. For a man, his knees represent his dignity.

Long Ao, of course, knew exactly what Zhang Zhihang was doing. It was nothing more than an attempt to humiliate him in front of Ao Xue and even the score. An ordinary person would have likely given in and knelt by now, but Long Ao would never, ever do such a thing.

In truth, anyone else in his position probably wouldn't have even shown up, let alone considered kneeling and severing their arms. Since he had come, how could Long Ao possibly choose to compromise—especially a compromise that involved kneeling and breaking his own arms?

Shaking his head, Long Ao said with a sorrowful expression, "A tree without bark will surely die, but a man without shame is invincible. Based on your current realm of shamelessness, I can only offer you five words."

Five words?

Long Ao's words thoroughly piqued the curiosity of everyone present. They had no idea what five words Long Ao was about to bestow upon Zhang Zhihang.

"Being shameless makes you invincible."

"Being shameless makes you invincible." Hearing the five words Long Ao offered, many in the crowd couldn't help but burst into laughter. However, a single cold glare from Zhang Mo scared them into immediately shutting their mouths, forcing them to stifle their amusement.

"Long Ao, it seems you have a death wish." Hearing the five words his opponent had 'gifted' him, along with the laughter from the crowd, Zhang Zhihang's expression became as dark as it could possibly be. He clenched his fists tightly, looking as if he might lash out at any second.

"Zhang Zhihang, you are a Martial Artist, ranked third on the Wind and Cloud Ranking. I never would have thought you could be so shameless. The one Ao Xue likes is clearly me, yet you publicly try to steal her for yourself. Let me ask you, are you even worthy of being called a Martial Artist?"