War God Long Ao

"Brother Long, the Eight Realms of Void, in ascending order, are divided into Hundred Tribulations, Venerable, Supreme Venerable, Earth Venerable, Celestial Venerable, Great Venerable, Realm King, and Realm Emperor."

Hundred Tribulations, Venerable, Supreme Venerable, Earth Venerable, Celestial Venerable, Great Venerable, Realm King, and Realm Emperor.

Zhang Mo was merely a Venerable, placing him at the bottom of the Eight Realms of Void, yet his power was this terrifying.

Long Ao found it hard to imagine what kind of power a Martial Artist above the Void Venerable realm might possess.

As if sensing his shock, Xia Army said, "Among the Six Great Sects, it's almost certain that they all have Supreme Venerables. However, Martial Artists at the Earth Venerable realm or above rarely make an appearance."

As if remembering something, Xia Army added, "About that third trial the Ghost King mentioned… he wants you to participate in the Six Sects' tournament a month from now to compete for the Venerable Golden Core. That core is a Golden Core condensed from the full power of a Venerable Martial Artist after their death."

"Oh? What's the story behind that?"

Long Ao was extremely curious. 'What exactly is this Venerable Golden Core?'

"Brother Long, you might not know this, but a Venerable Golden Core is formed when a Venerable Martial Artist dies and all their power condenses into a single Golden Core. If you can obtain it, you can inherit the full power of that Venerable Martial Artist. When that happens, breaking through to the Venerable Realm becomes much easier."

After a quick glance around, Xia Army said, "The Six Great Sects, my father included, all want to get their hands on this Venerable Golden Core."

Long Ao was shocked. He hadn't realized the Venerable Golden Core was so precious.

He stopped dwelling on the matter of the Venerable. Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Long Ao stood up again and faced Zhang Mo, his expression impassive, seemingly without a shred of concern.

Zhang Zhihang's soul had been grievously injured. The chances of him recovering in a short amount of time were slim to none.

Ao Xue, who had now regained consciousness, came before Long Ao and said gently, "If you live, then I live. If you die, then I die. We will never be apart in this life, and I will follow you through all the lives to come."

These four simple phrases were enough to declare Ao Xue's stance.

Ao Xue walked to Ghost King Ao Tian's side. Without a hint of resentment, she said, "Whether Long Ao lives or dies, I belong to him. After this is over, I, Ao Xue, will no longer be a member of the Ghost King Sect."

"So you're abandoning your father?"

"I am."

I am.

Upon hearing this, Ghost King Ao Tian's body shuddered. Perhaps it was guilt, but Ao Tian said nothing more. 'To obtain the Venerable Golden Core, sacrificing a daughter is an unavoidable price.'

"Long Ao, forget three moves. You won't even be able to withstand a single one. Believe it?"

"Believe my ass."

"You…"

Long Ao cut Zhang Mo off, unable to control himself any longer. He rarely swore, but at this moment, he felt an overwhelming urge—a need—to curse him out.

"Zhang Mo, as a Venerable and the Sect Leader of the Golden Sun Sect, your actions are truly shameless. I have a little something for you. Make sure you remember it."

Everyone waited in anticipation, eager to hear just what Long Ao had to say to Zhang Mo.

"Zhang Mo, I bet you were dropped on your head as a baby, 'cause you sure as hell grew up unloved. Your left cheek's asking for a slap, your right's asking for a kick. Even a donkey would kick you on sight. You're a natural-born cucumber—all you're good for is getting smacked! And a ready-made walnut—all you're good for is getting cracked!"

His face was a mask of contempt as he continued his tirade, "You're such a masochist. It's baffling. I teach you the saber, you insist on the sword. But you don't practice the high sword, you practice being low-down and dirty! You don't aim for the Golden Sword, you'd rather be a silver-tongued devil! I offer you the title of Sword Immortal, you don't want it. I'd name you a Sword God, you won't take it. Instead, you shamelessly cry and beg to be called a Swordman! Honestly, what's the point of being such a degenerate?"

Back in Red Fire Town, whenever Long Ao finished his cultivation on Red Fire Mountain, he wouldn't hurry back to his family. Instead, he would sit in a small teahouse and listen to the local riff-raff trade insults. The tirade he had just unleashed was something he'd picked up there, and he delivered it to Zhang Mo word for word.

As the Sect Leader of the Golden Sun Sect, when had Zhang Mo ever suffered such humiliation?

"Long Ao, enough of your bullshit! Take this!"

"Wait."

"Are you scared?"

"Hmph. Ghost King, I have a question. When I receive Zhang Mo's three moves, am I supposed to just stand here and take it, or am I allowed to fight back?" Long Ao's words were like a series of hard slaps to the faces of both Ghost King Ao Tian and Zhang Mo. Whether Long Ao fought back or not, their actions were shameless; there was no escaping the fact that they were a senior bullying a junior, the strong preying on the weak.

"You can fight back."

Nodding, Long Ao sneered. "Bring it on."

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhang Mo moved. In an instant, a chaotic flurry of palm shadows filled the air.

"How shameless!" Xia Army's voice was loud enough for everyone in the plaza to hear. And everyone did, in fact, look with contempt upon the Sect Leader of the Golden Sun Sect. The man had attacked before his opponent was even ready—it was nothing short of a sneak attack.

Long Ao didn't dare to be the least bit careless. While he still didn't fully understand the Void Realm, he knew one thing for certain: a Venerable was incredibly powerful.

He gathered all the power in his body. Long Fu also lent his aid, combining Long Ao's own power with the power of the Dragon Seal Space to form a Qi Shield around him—an invisible one.

Long Fu was incredibly mysterious, and the Dragon Seal Space was incredibly powerful.

Even though Long Fu couldn't intervene directly, the Qi Shield he helped Long Ao create was more than enough to block one of Zhang Mo's strikes.

This was why Long Ao didn't fight back or even try to resist the first move. He simply stood there quietly. The crowd gasped in shock at the sight. If Ao Tian hadn't been holding her back, Ao Xue would have charged forward long ago.

Xia Army's expression turned grim. 'What is Long Ao doing? Even if he knows he's no match for Zhang Mo, he can't just stand there and wait to be killed!'

The gap in power between Zhang Mo and Long Ao was already enormous. He might not have been able to defend against the attack even if he fought back, let alone by just standing still. This was certain death.

While everyone watched in shock, Zhang Mo's palm slammed viciously into Long Ao's chest.

In truth, Zhang Mo was also surprised. 'Why isn't Long Ao dodging? Is he really that confident?'

Long Ao's body was sent flying backward. But in that very instant, he unleashed a Soul Attack, simultaneously releasing the Soul-Sealing Seal, the Nether Burning Seal, and the Heaven-Burying Seal.

Long Ao's plan was simple. 'With Long Fu's help, I should be able to withstand this blow. I'll use the moment he underestimates me to launch a Soul Attack and hopefully injure him.'

A Soul Attack… Long Ao knew full well that under normal circumstances, he would have no hope of successfully attacking his opponent's soul. The gap in their power was simply too vast.

A Venerable was a being beyond a Taoist Ancestor. Forget a Venerable; Long Ao wouldn't even dare to casually use a Soul Attack against a Taoist Ancestor.

But Long Ao knew one thing even more clearly: this Soul Attack was his only chance. 'He has to land three moves. Even if I can block the first, can I really block the second and the third?'

That was why Long Ao had decided to bet everything on this one gamble, even if it meant taking a direct hit.