War God Long Ao

"He's out."

Long Potian's face lit up with joy when he saw Long Ao's figure appear.

Before Long Ao could even speak, Long Potian shot him a meaningful look and asked, "Brother Long, how did it go?"

Although surprised, Long Ao was very smart and instantly understood what Long Potian meant. He shook his head helplessly and said with a wry smile, "The Fifteen-Heaven Celestial Ladder."

"Where are you from?"

"Who are you?"

"Brother Long, I forgot to introduce you. This is my father, Long Bu, the Patriarch of the Long Family."

"I am Long Ao, a disciple of the Red Fire Town Long Family."

'The Celestial State Red Fire Town Long Family?'

In Long Bu's mind, the Red Fire Town Long Family was merely a Ninth Level Clan. It was no small feat for them to have nurtured such an exceptionally talented disciple. If Long Bu ever found out that the person who had truly ascended the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder was not his son but the young man before him, he'd probably drop dead from sheer anger.

Although Long Ao had managed to ascend the Fifteen-Heaven Celestial Ladder, his family's low rank was an undeniable fact.

Long Bu couldn't help but look down on Long Ao, but for his son's sake, he put on a smile. "Since you and Potian are friends, and we all belong to the Long Clan, why don't you come be our guest, if you're willing?"

How could Long Ao not notice the disdain in Long Bu's heart?

Long Ao had been looked down upon and ridiculed for a full ten years, but Long Bu was still Long Potian's father. He had to show him respect, if not for the man himself, then for his son.

Long Ao only knew one thing: Long Potian was his friend.

After all, without Long Potian, he never would have been able to enter Celestial Heaven, let alone ascend to the Celestial Ladder Peak.

"Brother Long, I need to talk to you."

Unable to refuse, Long Ao could only agree. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

And so, instead of returning to the Red Heaven Realm, Long Ao and Long Potian headed for the Long Family of Chizhou, one of the Nine Great Clans.

If they had dared to leave the Red Heaven Realm without permission before, Long Ao and Long Potian would have certainly been punished. But now, the Eight Great Clans didn't even mention it. This meant word of their departure would not spread to the other eight states.

The Long Family, one of the Nine Great Clans of Chizhou.

The Nine Great Clans were the Wang Family, the Hao Family, the Duanmu Family, the Long Family, the Miao Family, the Wei Family, the Zhou Family, the Fang Family, and the Yan Family. Among them, the Long Family was not considered particularly powerful, ranking in the lower-middle tier at best.

Even so, no one dared to provoke the Long Family. Not only did they have the greater Long Clan backing them, but more importantly, the family had produced a supreme genius: Long Potian.

Just as Long Potian had said, once his Cultivation broke through to the Void Realm and he became a Venerable, he could contend for a spot on the Dragon Ranking. If he were lucky enough to make it onto the list, then not only his own status, but that of the entire Long Family would rise accordingly.

Especially now, since the Eight Great Clans had personally witnessed Long Potian ascend to the Celestial Ladder Peak, the Long Family's status had instantly skyrocketed. All eight clans understood one thing very clearly: the already immensely talented Long Potian would now see his Cultivation speed increase without limit. No one could predict when he would suddenly soar to unimaginable heights.

Therefore, the Eight Great Clans had already decided that no matter what happened, they would not easily provoke the Long Family.

The Long Family was located within Red Dragon City.

Red Dragon City was one of the nine major cities in Chizhou. With the Long Family as its backer, the city was extremely prosperous. Its transient population alone reached over ten million, a testament to its immense prosperity.

Within the Long Family estate, in a luxurious courtyard.

"Brother Long, let me ask you, did you really ascend to the peak of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder?"

Long Ao didn't hide anything from Long Potian. He nodded and said, "That's right. My luck was pretty good, and I managed to reach the Celestial Ladder Peak by a fluke."

'A fluke?'

He shrugged helplessly. If everyone could reach the Celestial Ladder Peak by a fluke, then geniuses would be a dime a dozen in this world.

To say he wasn't envious would be a lie, but Long Potian was truly happy for Long Ao.

"Brother Long, no matter what, you must remember one thing: you can't tell anyone that you reached the peak of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder. Not even your closest family. Do you understand?"

"Brother Potian, what's wrong?"

'Why can't I tell anyone I reached the Celestial Ladder Peak, not even my closest family? Is he afraid someone will try to kill me?'

"Brother Long, your guess is right. Once word gets out that you reached the Celestial Ladder Peak, you'll face endless Slaughter. You'll be in a lot of trouble then."

'Just as I thought.'

Long Ao knew Long Potian was looking out for him. He nodded and said, "Don't worry. Only you and I know; a third person will never find out. Brother Potian, everyone thinks you're the one who reached the peak of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder. Aren't you afraid of the trouble?"

Long Ao never imagined Long Potian would claim the achievement for himself. He knew perfectly well that by doing so, all the trouble would be redirected to Long Potian, leaving him completely in the clear.

"Brother Long, don't worry about it. I'll be fine. After all, I have my family to back me up. You don't need to worry about this matter."

He made it sound easy, but it was actually a huge problem. Long Ao didn't press the issue. 'This is a friend, a true friend.'

"Brother Long, you've already reached the Celestial Ladder Peak. Without a doubt, as long as you continue to grow, you'll definitely become an overlord in the future. Don't forget about me then."

Long Ao just smiled. He knew Long Potian was joking, but he made a silent vow to himself: in the future, he would help not only his own family, but Long Potian's as well.

Everything was understood without words.

"Brother Long, since you're here, stay for a few days. I'll make the arrangements later. When you head back, you can take two Venerables with you."

"Brother Potian, will this cause trouble for you?"

'After all, Long Potian isn't the Patriarch yet; he can't really call the shots in the Long Family. Two Venerables are no small matter. If this causes trouble for him, I'd be a terrible friend.'

Long Potian, of course, knew what Long Ao was thinking. He smiled and said, "Brother Long, rest assured, this is a small matter I can still handle. Relax. Stay here for a few days. This is my private courtyard, so no one will come to disturb you."

Without giving Long Ao a chance to refuse, Long Potian stood up and left.

Watching the retreating figure, Long Ao suddenly smiled. He didn't have many friends, but every one of them was true and sincere. That was more than enough.