War God Long Ao

With a wave of his hand, Long Ao smiled and said, "We have company."

"Situ Ren."

Wen Lan rose and left. Long Ao, of course, was no stranger to the man. If Wen Lan hadn't intervened last time, he was sure that he and Situ Ren would have already come to blows.

「In the small courtyard.」

The moment Wen Lan opened the door, Situ Ren sauntered in with a sleazy grin. Four Great Venerable City Guards followed close behind, and all five men wore lecherous expressions.

Her heart sank. Wen Lan knew exactly why the five of them had come together. She was utterly disgusted, but she didn't dare voice her feelings. After all, the men before her were City Guards. Offending them meant certain death.

"Wen Lan, all five of us came this time. You don't mind, do you?"

'You're already here, so why waste time with this nonsense?' she cursed inwardly.

Suppressing her disgust, before Wen Lan could even speak, Situ Ren said impatiently, "If you've got nothing else to do, let's get started. Don't worry. As long as you take good care of us, you'll be able to get anything you want in the City of Sin from now on."

A bitter smile touched her lips. Wen Lan knew things had reached a point where she had no other choice.

Gritting her teeth, she resigned herself to the inevitable. 'I'll just have to endure it.'

Just then, Long Ao walked out from the back of the courtyard. Seeing him, Situ Ren's expression turned cold. He shot Wen Lan a venomous glare and spat, "Harlot."

Wen Lan opened her mouth to say something, but the icy look in Situ Ren's eyes made her swallow her words.

"You have no right to speak of her."

"I have no right? Then I suppose you do?"

Long Ao sneered mockingly. "Situ Ren, who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing without your City Guard title. Let me be clear: if you weren't a City Guard, what would you be? Nothing."

How could Situ Ren possibly tolerate such a blatant insult?

Situ Ren's face contorted with rage, but before he could get a word out, Long Ao continued, "Don't get it twisted, Situ Ren. In my eyes, you're not even worthy of being called trash."

"You're courting death!"

With a dismissive wave, Long Ao completely ignored him and turned to Wen Lan. "Stick with me from now on. I can promise you that no one, man or beast, will ever dare to bully you again."

Wen Lan gazed deeply at the young man before her. She found it hard to trust him. 'What if I choose him and end up torn to shreds?'

"You don't trust me?"

She let out a deep sigh. Things had already gone this far; she had no choice but to trust him. Wen Lan gave a firm nod. Though she said nothing, her meaning was clear.

"Excellent. Wen Lan, since you dare to betray the City of Sin, I will now execute you on the spot in the name of the Five Great Emperors."

The words had barely left Situ Ren's mouth when a figure shot out from behind him—one of the other City Guards, who was also a Great Venerable Martial Artist.

However, as fast as the Great Venerable shot forward, he was sent flying back even faster. He let out a terrified shriek, but before he could even comprehend what had happened, a single punch from Long Ao had already smashed him to death.

'He killed a Great Venerable with a single punch?'

Situ Ren and his three remaining men watched in a mixture of shock and fury as Long Ao killed their companion with a single punch. None of them had ever imagined he could be this powerful.

'A Great Venerable?'

'When did Long Ao break through to the Void Great Venerable Realm?'

He knew for a fact that just a short while ago, he had personally sensed the man's strength—he was a Celestial Venerable, no doubt about it. But in the span of just a few hours, could his Cultivation have really broken through to the Great Venerable Realm?

'Is that kind of Cultivation speed even possible?'

Whether anyone else would believe it or not, Situ Ren and his men absolutely refused to.

'Could he have been hiding his Cultivation all along?'

It was the only logical explanation. The fact remained that Long Ao had killed their companion with a single, genuine punch. Though a part of him refused to accept it, Situ Ren knew with perfect clarity that in a one-on-one fight, not a single one of the four of them was Long Ao's match.

But the most stunned of all was Wen Lan. She never would have imagined Long Ao was this powerful. He was clearly a Void Great Venerable, yet he had suppressed his Cultivation to appear as though he were merely a Celestial Venerable.

Ignoring everyone's astonishment, Long Ao said coldly, "Situ Ren, I think you'll be staying here... permanently."

Situ Ren and his men were no fools; they knew exactly what he meant. Situ Ren snorted. "Long Ao, don't think you're invincible," he sneered. "Let me be clear. If I get word of this back to the others, do you really think you'll leave the City of Sin alive?"

"You won't get the chance."

"And you think you can stop me?"

Situ Ren gave his men a look. Instantly, the three Great Venerable City Guards charged Long Ao while Situ Ren himself spun around to flee. If he could just escape, he could bring back reinforcements, and Long Ao's death would be certain.

But would Long Ao allow that?

Long Ao threw out both fists. A tiger's roar echoed, and before anyone could react, a massive black Tiger was already lunging for Situ Ren with unbelievable speed.

Situ Ren jumped in fright.

He had no idea how Long Ao had suddenly unleashed a Spirit Beast—and a Great Venerable Spirit Beast at that! By the time he got a clear look at the creature, before he could even cry out in alarm, Long Ming had already tackled him to the ground.

The tiger roared again. Giving Situ Ren no chance to retaliate, Long Ming bit down hard.

One against three.

With Long Ao's current strength, even fighting one against three was no issue. Within minutes, all five Great Venerable City Guards had been slain. The outcome left Wen Lan utterly stupefied.

"Little Long, are you really a Great Venerable Martial Artist?"

Now that things had come to this, Long Ao no longer hid the truth. "Yes. Wen Lan, my offer still stands. If you're willing to stick with me, I will do my best to ensure your safety. If you're not, I won't force you. But I can tell you with certainty, it won't be long before the City of Sin is thrown into utter chaos."

Seeing Long Ao turn to leave, Wen Lan suddenly called out, "Wait! Let me think about it."

He gave a wry smile. If Wen Lan hadn't helped him before, Long Ao wouldn't have wasted so many words on her. 'There's really no need to recruit someone who doubts me,' he thought.

Long Ao made up his mind. He would give her five minutes, tops. If she still hadn't decided by then, he wouldn't say another word.

TICK. TOCK. Time trickled away. Soon, five minutes had passed. Long Ao knew that Wen Lan had ultimately chosen not to trust him. 'Since that's the case, why say anything more?'

"Wen Lan, I consider you a friend. If you ever need help in the future, you can find me. I won't be leaving the City of Sin for a while. Farewell."

Watching his figure retreat until it vanished from sight, Wen Lan fought the urge to call out to him several times, but ultimately, she held her tongue.