War God Long Ao

Upon stepping onto the Ninety-Two-Heaven Celestial Ladder, Long Ao was utterly stunned.

The Ninety-Two-Heaven Celestial Ladder, just like the ninety-first, was suffused with Purple Qi from the East. The only difference was its concentration.

Unwilling to waste a single moment, Long Ao immediately sat down and began absorbing the surrounding Purple Qi from the East.

And so, Long Ao spent several hours absorbing the energy on each new Heaven he ascended. He finally stopped after finishing his absorption on the Ninety-Eight-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

Taoist Peak.

Long Ao couldn't contain his elation. Nourished by the Purple Qi from the East, his Cultivation had skyrocketed from a Basic Level Taoist Ancestor directly to a Peak Taoist Ancestor. Such a rate of advancement was simply unheard of.

Long Ao knew full well that under normal circumstances, relying on his own Cultivation, he might not have reached Taoist Peak in one or even two years, let alone in just a few days.

The Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

Long Ao eagerly anticipated the final Heaven of the ladder. According to Long Potian, beyond the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder lay the Celestial Heaven. What the Celestial Heaven truly was, no one knew, for no one had ever managed to set foot on that final step.

The Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder. The final step.

Long Ao stared at the final step before him, his heart pounding with excitement. He knew that if he could ascend it, he would be the first person in history to ever reach the top of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

Finally.

Long Ao took the step. The moment his right foot landed on the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, a tremor ran through his entire body.

Having come this far, Long Ao did not hesitate any longer.

'Life or death, it all comes down to this.'

As his left foot followed onto the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, Long Ao found the entire scene around him had transformed. He was standing in the sky, looking down at the vast earth below. He was utterly stunned.

'That's right, I'm in the sky.'

Gazing at the vast mortal world below, Long Ao was shocked beyond measure. He finally understood the meaning of "Celestial Heaven" lying beyond the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

「On the twenty-ninth step of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.」

He had already failed ten times, yet he still couldn't gain a firm foothold on the twenty-ninth step.

Long Potian wanted to curse. He knew full well that his inability to ascend to the thirtieth Heaven wasn't due to a lack of strength or talent, but because of his soul.

From the thirtieth Heaven onward, there were Soul Attacks. Long Potian was completely unable to withstand them. If he insisted on pushing forward, his soul would be grievously injured, and death would be certain.

As much as he longed to reach the thirtieth Heaven, it was nothing compared to his own life.

「Before the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.」

The nine Supreme Venerables from the Nine Great Clans were chatting. Whatever grudges their clans held, these nine had long since retired from worldly affairs. They had but one duty: to guard the Celestial Heaven, the Forbidden Land of Chizhou.

"Look!"

As they followed his gaze, the expressions of the Seven Supreme Venerables changed completely. Their faces were etched with disbelief, and they even began to tremble.

"The millennial rainbow has appeared... can it be?"

The Seven Supreme Venerables knew full well what the massive rainbow in the sky represented. It meant that someone had reached the Celestial Ladder Peak and entered the Celestial Heaven.

'Who on earth could this person be?'

After all, in the thousand years since the Nine Great Clans had discovered the Celestial Heaven, no one had even managed to surpass the eightieth Heaven. But now? Someone had finally reached the Celestial Ladder Peak.

At that moment.

The sky turned a deep, fiery red, as if a raging Flame was blazing across it, illuminating the entire heavens.

A colossal rainbow appeared, containing ninety-nine different colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, black, gold, white...

The rainbow stretched from east to west, spanning the entire sky. It was a phenomenon of Heaven and Earth that defied description.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE.

Within the massive rainbow, clouds of a fiery Thunder Tribulation gathered. They descended upon Qilian Mountain, and great peals of Thunder began to ring out.

The sky above all of Chizhou was dyed red. Everyone could see the heavens suddenly burst into flame, as if intent on incinerating the entire world.

「The Red Heaven Realm.」

Everyone participating in the Kyushu tournament suddenly noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky. All activity ceased as they stopped and raised their heads to gaze into the distance.

「Outside the Red Heaven Realm.」

The Elders and Clan Leaders of the Nine Great Clans all turned to look in the direction of the celestial phenomenon. Others might not have understood, but the Nine Great Clans certainly did.

The appearance of the millennial rainbow meant that someone had truly reached the Celestial Ladder Peak. Who could it be?

The Nine Great Clans were certain that the person who reached the Celestial Ladder Peak had to be a disciple from one of their own clans. They had completely sealed off Qilian Mountain; who could possibly bypass the nine Supreme Venerables to enter the Celestial Heaven?

For this very reason, the members of the Nine Great Clans wasted no time. They immediately headed for the Celestial Heaven at Qilian Mountain, eager to see who had reached the Celestial Ladder Peak.

In less than an hour, everyone from the Nine Great Clans had gathered outside Qilian Mountain.

"Ancestor, who was it that reached the Celestial Ladder Peak?"

The nine Supreme Venerables exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of delighted surprise in the others' eyes. They knew exactly what reaching the Celestial Ladder Peak signified. If this person emerged alive, their future achievements would be immeasurable. Chizhou would give birth to a new supreme expert.

The nine Supreme Venerables all looked toward the Long Family. The other Eight Great Clans were no fools; from that single glance, they understood. The one who had reached the Celestial Ladder Peak was from the Long Family.

No matter how displeased or unwilling the Eight Great Clans were to admit it, the fact was undeniable and could not be changed.

Because of this, the Eight Great Clans offered their congratulations one after another, much to the surprise of the Long Family Patriarch, Long Bu. 'Others might not realize it, but I know for a fact that all of the Long Family's strongest prodigies have already entered the Red Heaven Realm,' he thought. 'How could any of them be here?'

'Who could it be?'

Forget everyone else; even Long Bu himself had no idea who had reached the Celestial Ladder Peak.

'Could it really be a disciple from my own clan?'

Long Bu could doubt himself, but he didn't dare doubt the nine Supreme Venerables. 'After all,' he reasoned, 'they have no reason to lie about something like this. Besides, one of them is my own family's Ancestor. Others might lie, but would our Ancestor?'

Just as Long Bu was filled with delighted anticipation, wondering who had reached the Celestial Ladder Peak, someone shouted. Everyone turned to look at the young man slowly walking out from ahead.