War God Long Ao

In the time he had left, Long Ao planned to focus on his Cultivation and improve as much as possible.

He had used the Nine Needle God-Sealing twice this time. Not only had he avoided being consumed by the backlash, but he had actually used its power to break through to the Second Transformation. It was a blessing in disguise.

Having already entered the territory of the Flame Empire, Long Ao had no intention of leaving.

He first entered Flame City, found Linghu Ning and Bing Hun, and got straight to the point. "Brother Linghu, Bing Hun, I'm planning to go train in the Flame Forest and wanted to invite you both to come along. What do you say?"

"No problem."

Linghu Ning and Bing Hun agreed immediately, without a moment's hesitation.

Still, Bing Hun couldn't resist asking, "Brother Long, how on earth did you do it?"

Long Ao truly considered the two of them friends, so he didn't hide much and told them the whole story. After listening, both Linghu Ning and Bing Hun were left sighing in astonishment.

A true brush with death.

"Brother Long, now that you've offended the Golden Sun Sect and the Ghost King Sect, do you really think they'll just let it go?"

Long Ao was well aware of Linghu Ning and Bing Hun's concerns. He smiled and said, "It's fine. The Ghost King Sect probably won't be a problem, but it's hard to say with the Golden Sun Sect. Regardless, I won't back down."

"Brother Long is right. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Since things had come to this, Bing Hun said no more on the matter and asked, "Brother Long, when do we set out?"

"Right away. Immediately."

In fact, Long Ao was still a bit puzzled. 'Given how much of a stir I'm causing right now, Dongfang Suo should have sought me out the moment I entered Flame City. But now?'

Long Ao didn't even have to guess to know what had happened.

'The Flame Royal Family relies on the support of the Flame Sect. As things stand, the Flame Sect surely sees me as an eyesore and wants to get rid of me. In that case, how would the Flame Royal Family and Dongfang Suo dare to get close to me?'

As if guessing Long Ao's thoughts, Bing Hun pondered for a moment before finally speaking. "Brother Long, I've received word that the Flame Sect is apparently quite displeased with you. That's why Dongfang Suo won't be looking for you anymore."

Long Ao just smiled. He didn't have a particularly high opinion of Dongfang Suo anyway. It was only because the man had given him a lot of medicinal herbs that he could barely be considered a friend.

No longer dwelling on the matter of the Flame Royal Family, the trio wasted no more time, turning and leaving Flame City.

The Flame Forest was the largest Spirit Beast Forest in the Flame Empire, and it was a famous location even within the entire Celestial State.

Long Ao's purpose for entering the Flame Forest was simple: he wanted to achieve a breakthrough in his Cultivation in the shortest time possible. As for why he had invited Bing Hun and Linghu Ning, the reason was also simple.

The souls of the Spirit Beasts they slew would be continuously fed into the Dragon Seal Space. As for the Beast Pills and carcasses, his two companions would take care of them and send them back to the Long Family in Red Fire Town.

Just like that, the trio roamed the Flame Forest. Twelve days passed in a blur. Including the three days before, exactly half a month had gone by. This meant there was only half a month left until the Six Sects tournament began.

「On the sixteenth day, at dusk.」

The trio had just slain two powerful Spirit Beasts and were resting when two figures approached them.

Upon seeing the two, Long Ao's expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet, his gaze fixed warily upon them. The two individuals were none other than the two Elders from the Blood Sea Sect: Du Hexuan and Du Yunxuan.

Looking at the wary Long Ao, Du Yunxuan chuckled sinisterly, while Du Hexuan said, "Long Ao, we must truly be fated to meet, to run into each other in a place like this."

'Shameless.'

The moment Du Hexuan finished speaking, all three of them viciously cursed him in their hearts. 'We've seen shameless people before, but never anyone *this* shameless. This is a whole new level of shamelessness.'

'Fated?' They had clearly come looking for trouble, yet now they were calling it fate. Linghu Ning snorted, his face filled with contempt and disdain. If not for his wariness of their power, he might have already attacked.

"Linghu Ning, you might be someone of note in the Mortal World, but to us, you're less than nothing. You'd best shut your mouth. Otherwise, I'll kill you where you stand."

Linghu Ning looked like he wanted to say something more, but Long Ao stopped him.

Shaking his head, Long Ao gave a cold laugh. "Du Hexuan, Du Yunxuan, let's not play games. State your purpose for coming here. Unless, of course, you're willing to admit you aren't true Martial Artists."

Du Yunxuan's expression turned chilly. "Straight to the point. I like that," he said with disdain. "In that case, we won't mince words either. Long Ao, we're giving you two paths. You choose one."

Du Hexuan continued, "Two paths. The first: in half a month, during the Six Sects tournament, you will help our Blood Sea Sect compete for the Venerable Golden Core. The second: you die right now."

"Gentlemen, I'd like to ask you a question. Were your parents good people?"

Although they had no idea why Long Ao was asking this, the two men nodded. "What if they were? And what if they weren't?" they retorted.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just curious what kind of good people could raise creatures like you."

PFFT.

Hearing Long Ao's remark, Bing Hun couldn't help but let out a laugh.

The expressions on Du Yunxuan and Du Hexuan turned impossibly grim. Just as they were about to speak, Long Ao suddenly struck out with a fist. Caught completely off guard, the two were nearly hit. They had never imagined, not even for a second, that he would dare to launch a surprise attack.

In their hearts, they were actually quite wary of Long Ao. After all, he had defeated Zhang Zhihang and even withstood a direct blow from Zhang Mo. 'If it were us,' they thought, 'could we have taken a hit from Zhang Mo?' The answer was a clear no.

Just as the two men, furious, were about to retaliate, a sharp pain suddenly erupted in their minds.

At that exact moment, Long Ao chose not to press the attack. He grabbed Bing Hun and Linghu Ning and made a swift retreat, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

A Soul Attack, split between two targets. Perhaps due to the vast disparity in their power levels, the two of them recovered in only a short moment. Even so, they were utterly shocked, having no idea how he had managed it.

"Brother, that kid knows how to use Soul Attacks."

"I know. Regardless, that brat cannot be allowed to live. We must kill him today. Be on your guard from now on. Soul Attacks are strange and powerful. If we're not careful and get hit, it will be a huge problem for us. Thankfully, his own strength is still no match for ours. Otherwise, we would have been in deep trouble just now."

Du Yunxuan nodded. Thinking back on what had just occurred, he felt a lingering fear. It was a good thing Long Ao's own power wasn't that high. Otherwise, that Soul Attack alone would have been enough to kill them both. The consequences of having one's soul damaged were unimaginable.