War God Long Ao

As a top figure on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, Huo Teng would of course participate in this year's Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle.

Huo Teng sneered, his face filled with contempt and ridicule.

"Long Ao, everyone knows the only reason you're on the Wind and Cloud Ranking is because you used some unorthodox tricks. Based on real strength, even ten of you wouldn't be a match for Zhang Zhihang."

"Whether I'm a match for Zhang Zhihang is none of your damn business."

Long Ao said coldly. 'But for now, the bigger picture is what matters. We can't let people from the other states laugh at us.' Otherwise, Xia Jun would have already made his move instead of waiting until now.

"Hahaha, none of my business?"

Suddenly, Huo Teng burst into laughter. In the otherwise quiet area, his laugh was exceptionally jarring.

"Who the hell is that? He must have a death wish."

"Bastard, what the fuck are you yelling about? If you've got guts, go die. What a piece of trash."

Completely ignoring the curses from all around, Huo Teng suddenly shouted, "Brothers of Kyushu, I have an announcement! Our Celestial State has produced an arrogant piece of trash who doesn't know his place. I swear right now, whoever can kill this person inside the Red Heaven Realm, I will give them this Taoist Ancestor Spirit Beast Pill!"

A Void Beast Pill is equivalent to the entire power of a Taoist Ancestor Martial Artist. One could only imagine how incredibly valuable the Beast Pill Huo Teng had just produced was.

Hearing Huo Teng's words, the surrounding crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. They were all curious about the depth of the grudge between Huo Teng and the young man opposite him, a grudge so deep that he couldn't even wait for the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle to begin.

But a great reward is sure to attract brave men. The temptation of a Taoist Ancestor Spirit Beast's Beast Pill was immense.

Huo Teng knew very well that although no one was openly agreeing with him now, once they entered the Red Heaven Realm, some would surely be unable to resist the temptation and choose to go after Long Ao.

Dugu Bai and Xia Jun's expressions turned utterly grim, as ugly as they could possibly be.

Grabbing the explosive Dugu Bai and Xia Jun, Long Ao said with a smile, "Brother Dugu, Brother Xia, if a dog bites you, would you bite it back?"

Xia Jun also smiled and said, "Of course not. That's something only a dog would do. We're human; we wouldn't stoop to that level."

Long Ao and Dugu Bai both laughed, while only Huo Teng's face darkened.

Letting out a cold laugh, Huo Teng said, "Long Ao, don't be so arrogant. Once we're in the Red Heaven Realm, I'll show you the meaning of pain."

"I'm ready whenever you are."

Watching Huo Teng leave, Xia Jun asked curiously, "Brother Long, do you have a feud with Huo Teng?"

"I don't know."

"What a fucking lunatic. Brother Long, don't pay him any mind. If he dares to keep running his mouth, we'll just team up and kill him after we enter the Red Heaven Realm."

Xia Jun was fully confident. With the three of them working together, who could possibly be their match? As for Huo Teng, there was no need for all three of them; he alone was enough to take care of him.

Long Ao just smiled. From the very beginning, he had never taken Huo Teng seriously. It would be fine if he didn't come looking for trouble, but if he did, Long Ao would make sure he never returned.

"Brother Long, many of our fellow disciples are here. How about I introduce you?"

Waving his hand, Long Ao said with a smile, "Brother Dugu, Brother Xia, don't worry about me. I'd like to be alone for a bit."

Dugu Bai and Xia Jun glanced at each other, but neither said anything more and left one after another. Of the top one hundred people on the Celestial State's Wind and Cloud Ranking, ninety were from the Six Great Sects, which averaged out to about fifteen people per Sect.

The Thunder Sect had a slightly larger proportion of people on the ranking, so for this Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle, the Thunder Sect alone had sent a full eighteen people, which was quite a large team.

In any case, as one of the most powerful of the Six Great Sects, the Thunder Sect's strength and foundation were plain to see. In a situation like this, who would be foolish enough to provoke them?

Of the figures from the Celestial State's Wind and Cloud Ranking this time, aside from the Thunder Sect, two of the other Five Great Sects—the Golden Sun Sect and the Blood Sea Sect—had already received kill orders: no matter what happened, they were to kill Long Ao.

Long Ao was well aware of this. He sat alone on a large rock, ignoring the chattering crowd around him. With his eyes closed, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

DING DONG.

A clear bell toll resounded. Everyone stood up and looked toward the Red Heaven Realm before them, because they all knew the tolling of the bell signified the official start of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle.

Everyone acted with a tacit understanding. The participants from Kyushu would enter the Red Heaven Realm one state at a time, starting with the Celestial State. Upon entering, each person would receive a Token infused with their own Soul Power.

The rules of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle were simple: Slaughter. It didn't matter if they were an enemy or an ally; as long as you could kill them and take their Soul Order, you could do it, because no one would interfere.

In other words, besides killing people from other states, Long Ao could also kill people from the Celestial State to seize their Soul Orders—for example, he could kill Huo Teng.

According to the rules of the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Battle, under normal circumstances, a Fusion to create a melee—such as all the participants from the Celestial State and Chizhou gathering for a brawl—would not occur. Instead, everyone would scatter and pick off targets one by one. This was the only way to gain the most from the experience.

However, once everyone was inside the Red Heaven Realm, there would be no one to enforce any rules.

Dugu Bai and Xia Jun, fearing something might happen to Long Ao, followed him into the Red Heaven Realm, keeping a close watch on everyone else, especially the disciples from Flame City.

The Red Heaven Realm, in the end, was nothing more than an isolated dimension. It was known as an Ancient Battlefield and contained the tombs of many powerful experts, though no one had ever been able to access them.

In the beginning, many people entered the Red Heaven Realm to search for the Ancient Tombs, hoping to obtain the inheritance of a master. But very few ever succeeded, and over time, people stopped entering the Red Heaven Realm to search for the so-called Ancient Tombs.

"Brother Dugu, is this place really an Ancient Battlefield?"

Nodding, Dugu Bai said, "It should be true. A thousand years ago, before Kyushu was divided, the world was in chaos. The major powers fought over territory, sparking a world-shaking war. The casualties were innumerable; you could say that corpses littered the fields and rivers of blood flowed. After that, the continent was divided into the nine states of Kyushu, and places like the Red Heaven Realm came to be known as Ancient Battlefields."

After a moment of thought, Dugu Bai continued, "According to legend, many powerful experts fought here in the Red Heaven Realm, which is why it's called an Ancient Battlefield. But one thing has always remained a mystery: the tombs that were supposed to be inside the Red Heaven Realm suddenly all vanished, and no one has ever been able to find them."

Before Long Ao could speak, Xia Jun, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly said, "Brother Dugu, Brother Long, we have trouble."