War God Long Ao

"How audacious! Back off."

"Sect Leader Zhang, for a Venerable such as yourself to make a move against a junior, isn't that going a little too far?"

Xia Jun had suddenly appeared in front of Long Ao, stopping him, and now spoke with a cold smile.

Long Ao looked at Xia Jun, a little surprised. 'After all, the Thunder Sect and the Golden Sun Sect have always stayed out of each other's way. For Xia Jun to stand up for me now... doesn't that mean he's offending the Golden Sun Sect?'

Although Xia Fang was a little surprised to see his son stand up for Long Ao, he didn't say anything.

"Xia Jun, Long Ao openly disrupted the wedding. For that alone, I have every right to kill him."

"HAHAHA, disrupt the wedding? Long Ao loves Ao Xue, and Ao Xue loves Long Ao. That's how it should be! If you ask me, Zhang Zhihang is the shameless one for trying to butt in."

His expression was terrifyingly grim, and his fists were clenched tight. If he weren't wary of the Thunder Sect backing Xia Jun, Zhang Mo probably would have struck already.

Rumors on the outside claimed that the Golden Sun Sect had already surpassed the Thunder Sect and the Flame Sect to become the leader of the Six Great Sects. But only Zhang Mo knew the truth: the Golden Sun Sect's current strength was nowhere near enough to rival the Flame Sect or the Thunder Sect.

"Brother Xia, what is your take on this?"

Zhang Mo didn't want to waste any more words on Xia Jun, so he directed the matter to Xia Fang, hoping the Thunder Sect's leader would intervene and call his son back.

But Xia Fang just smiled and said, "Xia Jun is helping a friend. As his father, I won't interfere. Besides, Brother Zhang, I feel your actions in this matter have been somewhat inappropriate. It was agreed beforehand that Zhixiang and Long Ao would have a fair fight, yet you broke the rules."

Xia Fang didn't elaborate, but the meaning behind his words was clear: Zhang Mo's actions had drawn the ire of the crowd.

Under normal circumstances, a fair duel between Martial Artists was not to be interfered with.

Moreover, the Six Great Sects were already at odds with one another. The Thunder Sect would love nothing more than to watch the Golden Sun Sect's drama unfold, as an opportunity like this was rare indeed.

"Sect Leader Zhang, Zhang Zhihang has lost. In the spirit of Martial Arts, Ao Xue should be allowed to leave with Long Ao. Wouldn't you agree?"

Zhang Mo was left speechless. With no other choice, he could only look to Ao Tian, hoping the Ghost King would step in and handle the situation. No matter what, Ao Xue was still Ao Tian's daughter.

If Ghost King Ao Tian spoke, he was sure no one would dare to object.

Ghost King Ao Tian's expression was also unsightly. He never imagined that Long Ao could actually defeat Zhang Zhihang. What made the situation even more difficult was that Zhang Mo had also interfered.

'Should I really agree to let Ao Xue leave?'

'The Golden Sun Sect... the Venerable Golden Core.'

The thought of the Venerable Golden Core was enough to solidify Ghost King Ao Tian's wavering resolve. He knew better than anyone what that pill meant to him.

'As a Venerable, I am only one step away from becoming a Supreme Venerable.'

"Long Ao, you should leave. I have already told you, Ao Xue is betrothed to Zhixiang. From this day forward, you are forbidden from setting foot in my Ghost King Sect again. Defy this, and you will be killed without mercy."

No one present was a fool. They could all roughly guess the implications of Ghost King Ao Tian's words.

In all likelihood, Ghost King Ao Tian must have reached some sort of agreement with Zhang Mo. Otherwise, given how things stood, Ao Tian would have had no reason to reject Long Ao.

Not the least bit surprised, Long Ao suddenly began to laugh.

"Long Ao, what are you laughing at?"

"What am I laughing at? I'm laughing at what a tragedy it is for Ao Xue to have a father like you."

"Zhang Mo! Zhang Zhihang! I, Long Ao, swear to the heavens today that I will one day annihilate your Golden Sun Sect! If I fail, may I be struck by the Five Thunders Bombarding the Top and suffer a miserable death!" As he spoke, Long Ao forced a drop of his Life Essence Blood from his body, forming a Blood Oath.

A Blood Oath—the most terrifying vow between Heaven and Earth.

Once formed, a Blood Oath has only two possible outcomes: either the vow is fulfilled, or the swearer suffers a fatal backlash.

No one could have imagined that Long Ao would make a Blood Oath. All eyes turned to Zhang Mo and his son, wondering how the Golden Sun Sect would respond.

Unsurprisingly, the faces of both Zhang Mo and Zhang Zhihang were filled with scorn and contempt; they clearly didn't take him seriously. 'A mere Transformed Martial Artist who used some unknown Secret Technique to reach the Human King Realm dares to make such outrageous boasts? He's truly courting death.'

'He thinks he can destroy the Golden Sun Sect?'

"Long Ao, I admire your courage. But a person must know their place. You, on your own..."

"Brother Long, don't be reckless." This was the first time Xia Jun had called him Brother Long. To an outsider, it might have meant little, but anyone who knew Xia Jun understood that this change in address signified he had truly acknowledged Long Ao as a friend.

Xia Jun had made very few friends in his entire life.

Long Ao's performance today had thoroughly won Xia Jun's admiration. In his opinion, Long Ao's talent was even greater than his own, perhaps even on par with *those two*. If Long Ao had come from a more prominent background, his accomplishments would surely be far greater than they were now.

In fact, Xia Jun had already decided he wanted to recruit Long Ao; otherwise, he never would have gone so far as to offend the Golden Sun Sect.

Even if the Golden Sun Sect was weaker than the Thunder Sect, open conflict would benefit no one. Thankfully, his father's silence was a sign of tacit approval. Xia Jun knew that his father also wanted to win Long Ao over, or he wouldn't have allowed him to intervene in the first place.

"Brother Long, Zhang Mo is a Venerable. With your current strength, you can't even block a single one of his moves. Don't be rash. As the saying goes, where there's life, there's hope."

It was unclear what method Xia Jun used, but no one else could hear his words; they were meant for Long Ao's ears alone.

'Venerable?'

'What level of power is a Venerable?'

Long Ao was bewildered by Zhang Mo's Realm. As far as he knew, Martial Artists were divided into three main Realms: the Postnatal Realm, the Innate Realm, and the Transformation Realm. 'Could Zhang Mo be an expert whose power surpasses even that of a Taoist Ancestor?'

It was only at this moment that Long Ao realized he had been a frog in a well. He had always assumed that the Taoist Ancestor Realm represented the Martial Arts Peak, but now it seemed there were even more formidable beings beyond it.

This incident ignited an even more urgent desire in Long Ao to increase his strength. He understood that to survive—let alone protect his family—on this continent where might makes right, he first had to become stronger himself. Without a powerful enough fist, everything else was just empty talk.

Strength. In the end, it all came down to strength.

With immense power, you were the master, free to do as you pleased. Without it, you could only stand there, take your beatings, and obediently keep your mouth shut. That was reality. That was the law of survival.

"Long Ao, how about I give you a chance? If you can take three of my moves, I promise I will no longer interfere in this matter. What do you say?"

Despicable. Shameless.

Everyone knew that Zhang Mo was a genuine Venerable whose strength far surpassed that of his son, Zhang Zhihang. Even with his temporary power boost, for Long Ao to think he could take three moves from Zhang Mo was nothing short of a fool's dream.