War God Long Ao

Dragon Sect.

On the mountain peak.

"Ao’Er, this chaotic battle between the Four Great Forces is our best opportunity. It would be a real shame to give it up."

Long Ao knew perfectly well what Ghost King Ao Tian meant.

"The Four Great Forces are not to be underestimated. We must proceed with caution, step by step. I would rather take a few more years than walk into certain death."

"But."

Before Ao Tian could speak, Long Ao continued, "This chaotic war among the Four Great Forces may seem earth-shattering, but in reality, it can’t damage their foundations. So, rather than waste our efforts on a pointless endeavor, we should focus on developing our own strength first."

Long Ao really didn’t want to say much more to Ao Tian.

He had to admit that Ao Tian’s abilities were formidable, without a doubt. But he had one major flaw: he was too fond of chasing fame and fortune. For the sake of power, he was willing to give up everything, including his own daughter.

It was precisely for this reason that Long Ao still somewhat disliked Ao Tian. If it weren’t for Ao Xue, he never would have formed an alliance with the Ghost King Sect.

Ghost King Ao Tian seemed to know this as well. He didn’t say anything more and quietly left.

Only Long Ao remained on the entire mountain peak.

Gazing into the endless void in the distance, an image of a person surfaced in Long Ao’s mind—someone he longed to find even in his dreams.

’Yuyin, where in the world are you? Do you know how much I miss you? So, so much.’

’If you never leave me, I will be with you through life and death.’

Long Ao’s fists were clenched tightly, his gaze fixed and unwavering, his face a mask of determination.

As the Four Great Forces fought their chaotic war, the Dragon Sect remained behind closed doors. This threw Kyushu into turmoil, leaving everyone feeling insecure and wishing that all Four Great Forces would just be annihilated.

Ever since returning to the Sect, Long Ao had focused on nothing but setting up arrays and performing alchemy. He had come back this time to concoct High Level elixirs to help the majority of the Sect’s members improve their strength.

Ultimately, the Dragon Sect’s overall strength was still too low. If he wasn’t personally present in the Sect, it felt as if the entire Dragon Sect would fall apart.

For this very reason, Long Ao prepared to thoroughly raise everyone’s strength.

If others were to learn of Long Ao’s plan, they would probably scorn him for it. A collective breakthrough for everyone? Was such a thing even possible?

In Chizhou, the Imperial City suddenly discovered a Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder and was nearly overjoyed, because throughout the Celestial Martial Continent, there were a total of ninety-nine such ladders. Each one was a legendary existence, as they were incredibly difficult to find.

Chizhou had originally been occupied by the Imperial City, but ever since the discovery of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder was exposed, the other three of the Four Great Forces—the Third Level Long Family, the Netherworld Mansion, and Piaomiao Palace—immediately began to attack Chizhou.

Since the Four Great Forces were already embroiled in a chaotic war, the three invading forces acted without any restraint.

According to legend, the ninety-nine Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladders were located in various places across the Celestial Martial Continent. Anyone who could ascend to the Celestial Ladder Peak would obtain supreme martial power, a prospect everyone yearned for.

For this reason, the Four Great Forces viciously cursed Chizhou’s Nine Great Clans. To think they possessed a Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder and hadn’t reported it! If it weren’t for this war, the Four Great Forces believed the matter of the ladder would have remained concealed by Chizhou’s Nine Great Clans.

However, before the Four Great Forces could deal with the Nine Great Clans, all the clans went into hiding, vanishing without a trace.

The Four Great Forces couldn’t be bothered with the Nine Great Clans and began fighting over the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder instead. But they helplessly discovered that fighting over it was ultimately pointless, since anyone could attempt to climb the ladder.

Ninety-nine Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladders might seem like a lot, but very few had actually been found.

With a Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder found, the war between the Four Great Forces became less intense. Everyone was eager to immediately try climbing it; the allure of the legend was simply too great.

Long Ao, who had also received the news, grew somewhat solemn. After all, he was the first person in nearly a hundred years to have ascended the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

’Ye Dugu?’

Long Ao vaguely remembered the mysterious expert he had met when he first reached the Celestial Ladder Peak. Now, Long Ao was finally certain, without a doubt, that the mysterious expert he had seen back then was, one hundred percent, a powerful Divine Dao Martial Artist.

Even now, Long Ao didn’t know why Ye Dugu had appeared at the Celestial Ladder Peak. Thinking back on it, Ye Dugu’s strength was simply terrifying. It was in no way inferior even when compared to powerful beings like the Ancient Divine Dragon or the Ancient Qilin.

The world was vast, and experts were as numerous as trees in a forest.

’There’s always someone better, a higher heaven beyond the sky.’ Long Ao knew very well that he was still just a frog in a well. He had only seen the tip of the continent’s iceberg. He had yet to truly encounter the real Martial Artists—beings from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, the Long Clan, the Heaven and Earth Sect. Ye Dugu, the Ancient Qilin... so many, many more experts were out there, waiting for him.

He hadn’t wanted to interfere in the war between the Four Great Forces, but Long Ao was very concerned about the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder.

Setting aside whether one could reach the Celestial Ladder Peak, just climbing each step was a test of one’s strength—a trial of life and death through which one’s Cultivation could achieve a qualitative breakthrough.

The most frustrating part was that the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder couldn’t be moved. Otherwise, he would have definitely tried everything he could to take it with him back then.

’What should I do?’

Although they had found the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, the Four Great Forces were extremely frustrated. Countless disciples from their sects, including even Void Saint Martial Artists, were unable to set foot on the Celestial Ladder Peak.

Forget the Peak—not a single person could even make it past the thirtieth step. One could only imagine what a huge blow this was to the Four Great Forces.

Even so, countless people still swarmed the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, recklessly attempting to climb it again and again. Over time, the Four Great Forces realized that the chaotic scene was bringing them no benefits at all.

Because of this, the Four Great Forces reached an agreement. Each day, each of the four powers could send only ten people to climb the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder. Each person would only have three attempts; once their chances were used up, they had to leave immediately.

News that the Four Great Forces had found a Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder had already spread throughout the entire Celestial Martial Continent. However, when super-powers like the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and the Long Clan received the news, they paid it no mind. It seemed they didn’t care about the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder at all.

For this reason, the Four Great Forces breathed a long sigh of relief. Without the intervention of the super-powers, they could finally relax a bit.

Having settled the matter of the Ninety-Nine-Heaven Celestial Ladder, the Four Great Forces went to war once more. This time, they seemed to fight with even greater ferocity. This battle would determine the final winner, the ultimate overlord. The victor would become the hegemon of Kyushu and could then slowly begin the search for the so-called Tomb of the Gods.