War God Long Ao

Outside the Celestial Heaven, at Qilian Mountain.

"Nine Seniors, I am preparing to climb the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder again. I would like to give my other opportunity to Brother Long."

The nine experts who guarded the Celestial Heaven hailed from the Nine Great Clans. They stood watch here year-round, never leaving for a single moment, and for this, Long Potian held them in deep admiration.

He had expected the nine guardians to object, making things difficult. But to the utter surprise of both Long Potian and Long Ao, the guardians offered no resistance at all, simply allowing them to pass.

Long Potian gave Long Ao a meaningful look, and they quickened their pace. In just a short while, the two had vanished without a trace.

「Within the vast Qilian Mountain range.」

Gazing at the rolling mountain range, Long Ao was astonished. 'I never imagined such a wondrous sight existed in this world.'

He had to admit, the Celestial Heaven was incredibly well-hidden. An ordinary person would never find this place, especially with the Nine Great Clans deliberately concealing its existence. That was how the Celestial Heaven had remained a secret for so many years.

"Brother Long, pay no mind to the others."

"What's wrong?"

"The people here are all genius disciples from their respective clans. Although the Nine Great Clans have temporarily agreed to cooperate for the sake of the Celestial Heaven, they have always been bitter rivals, as incompatible as fire and water."

'I see.'

He nodded, then suddenly froze. His eyes stared fixedly ahead, shock written all over his face.

"Brother Long, this is the legendary Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder."

Following his gaze, Long Ao saw a colossal Celestial Ladder appear before him and Long Potian. The ladder consisted of ninety-nine steps, each one a hundred meters long and ten meters wide. It was impossible to see the top, as the upper half of the Celestial Ladder was shrouded in white mist.

The swirling white mist made for a truly breathtaking sight.

'So this is the legendary Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder?'

At that moment, only a few people were around. Everyone on the Wind and Cloud Ranking was away participating in the Kyushu Wind and Cloud Ranking competition, so the entire Celestial Heaven was deathly quiet, without the slightest sound.

"Brother Long, the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder is also known as the Ninety-Nine Heavens. With every step you ascend, you will experience something different. In the last thousand years, no one has managed to reach the Peak. In fact, no one has even surpassed the eightieth step. I hope you can create a new legend."

Long Ao remained silent, standing quietly at the foot of the Celestial Ladder. He looked up at the endless flight of stairs, filled with an unparalleled sense of awe.

The entire Celestial Ladder seemed to connect Heaven and Earth, radiating a majestic and powerful aura.

Long Ao had only ever witnessed such a wonder of Heaven and Earth once before, at Corpse Bone Mountain. That experience had inspired him to create the Martial Art, Heaven and Earth Mourn Together. 'If I could create a new Martial Art here,' he thought, 'that would be incredible.'

"Brother Long, Brother Long."

Snapping out of his reverie, Long Ao said with some embarrassment, "My apologies. This Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder is just... truly overwhelming."

Long Potian laughed heartily, not minding in the least. "Don't worry about it. The first time I saw the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, I was just as stunned. Brother Long, do you want to start now, or would you like to prepare first?"

"I'll start immediately."

Of course, Long Ao wasn't going to wait on such a rare opportunity. He immediately strode forward and, in no time at all, arrived at the foot of the Celestial Ladder.

He glanced up at the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, his fists clenched tightly. He kept telling himself, 'No matter what happens, I have to make it to the top of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.'

He finally took the first step. The moment Long Ao set foot on the first step of the Celestial Ladder, his entire body was crushed by an immense, overwhelming pressure. If he hadn't been prepared, that force alone would have been enough to send him flying back.

Taking a deep breath, not daring to let his guard down for an instant, Long Ao circulated his body's full power, channeling it into his legs. Finally, he managed to bring his other foot onto the first step.

「Not far away.」

Watching Long Ao successfully mount the first step of the Celestial Ladder, Long Potian clenched his fists and muttered to himself, "Brother Long, I hope you don't disappoint me. As long as you can surpass the thirtieth step, we'll both have a chance to break through to the Void Realm and go even further."

In Long Potian's eyes, reaching the thirtieth step of the Celestial Ladder was already a remarkable achievement. It meant, at the very least, that one's talent and potential were sufficient to break through to the Void Realm.

With both feet planted on the first step, Long Ao endured the terrifying pressure with relative ease. 'What a joke,' he thought. 'If I can't even clear the first step, I'd have to completely re-evaluate my own talent and potential.'

Having conquered the first step, Long Ao didn't hesitate for a moment before heading for the second. The same oppressive pressure was there, but its intensity had increased by a full third.

Even though it was just an increase of one-third, Long Ao knew full well that the second step of the Celestial Ladder was far more terrifying than the first. The slightest misstep would send him tumbling down.

'The Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder... and I've only just reached the second step.'

According to Long Potian, the first twenty steps of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder were a trial of gravitational pressure. For someone at the level of an Earth Emperor or Taoist Ancestor, clearing the first twenty steps should be almost no problem at all.

From the twenty-first step onward, the gravitational pressure changed into a suppression of Momentum—a fundamental shift.

Long Ao felt this suppression of Momentum the instant he set foot on the twenty-first step. Because of this, he was absolutely certain that this was not the so-called Heaven and Earth's Momentum. Instead, it was an incredibly powerful Momentum, a type of force he couldn't quite identify.

An ordinary Martial Artist would likely be unable to withstand this Momentum, but Long Ao felt no pressure at all.

Up to this point, Long Ao had looked completely relaxed. His initial solemn expression was only because he hadn't yet gotten a feel for the Celestial Ladder's nature.

Now at the twenty-first step, Long Ao was fully confident. With his talent, potential, and strength, he was sure he could reach the same height as Long Potian—the twenty-ninth step of the Celestial Ladder.

「An hour passed in the blink of an eye.」

Long Ao had smoothly reached the twenty-ninth step. It was only now that his expression finally turned grave. He stood still on the step, not advancing immediately, instead taking the time to rest and recover his strength.

The twenty-ninth step. With this achievement, Long Ao had already matched Long Potian. In other words, if he could just climb one more step to reach the thirtieth, he would surpass him. If Long Potian knew, he would be more than just amazed—he would be overjoyed.

On the twenty-ninth step, Long Ao took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, he finally took a step, moving toward the thirtieth step of the Celestial Ladder.

The moment he set foot on the thirtieth step, Long Ao's expression changed drastically. He discovered that some kind of energy on this step was launching a Soul Attack against him.