War God Long Ao

Long Ao ultimately held back because of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament.

The Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament was held once every ten years. Over nine hundred people from the nine Wind and Cloud Rankings of Kyushu would participate, all competing for the top ten spots.

As the third-ranked martial artist on the Celestial State's Wind and Cloud Ranking, Long Ao was considered one of its main champions.

However, no one thought highly of Long Ao's chances. The reason was simple: his true power was only at the Human King Realm. He had only managed to defeat Zhang Zhihang by resorting to unorthodox tricks.

Normally, the third-ranked individual on the Wind and Cloud Ranking should be at the Earth Emperor Peak. But Long Ao? He was merely at the Human King Realm, a full realm beneath that standard.

Even though Long Ao's power hadn't reached Earth Emperor Peak, he had nevertheless defeated Zhang Zhihang. Thus, as the third-ranked on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, he would represent Celestial State in the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament.

The Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament was held once every decade, and regardless of the year, Celestial State always finished at the bottom.

The tournament had become a sore spot for Celestial State. For this reason, the Six Great Sects all desperately wanted to reclaim some honor, but each time, they only ended up losing more.

The Celestial Martial Continent was divided into the nine states of Kyushu: Celestial State, Di Zhou, Rizhou, Yuezhou, Sunset State, Yunzhou, Chizhou, Illusion State, and Heilin State.

Among the nine states, Celestial State was definitively last when it came to the rankings on the Wind and Cloud Ranking.

The location of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament changed every time, rotating among the nine states. In other words, if one tournament were held in Celestial State, the next would be in Di Zhou, and so on, completing a full cycle every ninety years.

This time, the tournament was set to take place in Chizhou.

For this reason, the experts from the Wind and Cloud Rankings of the other eight states were all converging on Chizhou.

Kyushu had nine Wind and Cloud Rankings, with a total of nine hundred people. However, the number of people who could actually participate in the tournament was less than eight hundred—perhaps even fewer.

Long Ao, Dugu Bai, and Xia Army traveled together, setting out from Celestial State and making their way toward Chizhou.

"Brother Long, I heard from the Sect Leader that Zhang Mo has issued a challenge to you. Did you accept?"

"No. But the feud between Zhang Mo and me must be settled sooner or later. Since it's come to this, I've decided that after I return, I will personally go to the Golden Sun Sect and accept Zhang Mo's challenge."

Neither Dugu Bai nor Xia Army was the least bit surprised to hear Long Ao's words. They knew his personality well. For a man who dared to storm the Ghost King Sect alone to steal a bride, was accepting Zhang Mo's challenge really so strange?

But worry was written all over the faces of Dugu Bai and Xia Army.

Dugu Bai thought for a moment, then finally said, "Brother Long, forgive me for being blunt, but with your current strength, you're no match for Zhang Mo."

Long Ao knew perfectly well that Dugu Bai was right.

After all, Zhang Mo was a genuine Void Venerable. The gap between the Transformation Realm and the Void Realm was immense; they weren't in the same league at all.

Though confident in his own abilities, Long Ao was self-aware. He knew that at his current level, he was no match for Zhang Mo.

But Long Ao had already decided. After he was done with the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament, he would immediately head to the Golden Sun Sect and settle the score with Zhang Mo once and for all.

According to Dugu Bai and Xia Army, Long Ao had learned that each tournament lasted for three months. Including the round trip, it would take about half a year.

It was precisely this time frame that gave Long Ao such confidence. He was sure he could break through to the Void Realm in half a year.

"Brother Long, I must advise you regarding your feud with Zhang Mo. If you can, put it off."

"Brother Dugu, why is that?"

Long Ao was puzzled. 'The feud between Zhang Mo and me has to be settled eventually,' he thought. 'Since that's the case, isn't it better to do it sooner rather than later?'

Dugu Bai said in a grave voice, "Brother Long, there's something you don't know. While the Golden Sun Sect isn't as powerful as the Flame Sect or Thunder Battle, they still have a Supreme Venerable in their ranks."

'A Void Supreme Venerable?'

Just as he thought. Long Ao had already suspected as much. For the Six Great Sects to be the overlords of Celestial State, they had to have Supreme Venerables watching over them. Otherwise, their claim to hegemony was just an empty title.

Within the Void Realm, the stages of power, from lowest to highest, were the Hundred Tribulations Realm, Venerable Realm, Supreme Venerable Realm, Earth Venerable Realm, Celestial Venerable Realm, Great Venerable Realm, Realm King Realm, and Realm Emperor Realm.

Xia Army, who had been silent all this time, spoke in a low voice, "Brother Long, I'll tell you a secret. Among the Six Great Sects, there are not only Supreme Venerables, but even Earth Venerables in seclusion. If you go to the Golden Sun Sect and provoke a Supreme Venerable Martial Artist or an Earth Venerable Martial Artist, things will become very troublesome."

"Brother Long, Supreme Venerable Martial Artists and Earth Venerable Martial Artists are not bound by sect rules. Once you provoke them, not even the sect will be able to protect you."

Long Ao understood the implication of Dugu Bai's and Xia Army's words.

'In the end, I can't move against the Golden Sun Sect right now. That will still be true even after my cultivation breaks through to the Void Realm.'

Seeing Long Ao fall into deep thought, Dugu Bai and Xia Army didn't dwell on the issue. They knew very well that the tournament would take a full six months. Perhaps, with Brother Long's talent and potential, he might even reach the Earth Venerable Realm in that time. At that point, forget just stepping into the Golden Sun Sect—he could probably sweep across all of Celestial State.

"Brother Dugu, tell me more about the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament."

Dugu Bai understood that Long Ao didn't want to dwell on the matter. Seeing this, neither he nor Xia Army pressed the issue.

"Brother Long, the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament is held once every ten years. Eight to nine hundred people all enter a separate dimension to slaughter one another, fighting for the tokens in their opponents' hands. For three whole months, bodies will litter the ground and rivers of blood will flow."

Three months of slaughter. One could only imagine how brutal the tournament was.

"Brother Long, after every tournament ends, the nine Wind and Cloud Rankings of Kyushu undergo a massive shake-up. It takes three to five years for them to recover."

"Brother Dugu, I'm curious. If that's the case, why does Kyushu still hold the tournament?"

"Many years ago, the very first Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament was held to encourage the disciples of each state to improve their strength. But as time went on, the nature of the tournament slowly changed. Now, it has evolved into a slaughtering ground. Whoever kills the most becomes an unrivaled legend."

In the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking Tournament, to be able to stand at the very top meant becoming a peerless legend, looking down on all your contemporaries. What young martial artist wouldn't want such an honor? Putting himself in their shoes, Long Ao admitted that even he couldn't resist such a temptation.

"So, Brother Long, I want to tell you: once you enter that slaughtering ground, do not show the slightest shred of mercy. Otherwise, you'll be the first one to go to Hell."