War God Long Ao

No matter what, Mu Lin was Long Ao's mother.

Mu Lin nodded, gently pushing the door open and walking inside.

"Mother."

With Long Ao's power, he of course knew who had entered. No matter how far Long Ao went, no matter how strong he became, he was still a young man not yet twenty years old, especially in front of his mother.

"Ao'Er, what on earth happened? Tell me."

She walked softly to Long Ao's side and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly gazing at her daughter-in-law lying there. Tears welled up in her eyes, but Mu Lin didn't dare to cry. She knew that Ao'Er was ten thousand times more heartbroken than anyone.

"Mother, I'll be sending Ao Xue away from the family soon."

"Where to?"

"To a very powerful place. Ao Xue won't be coming back for a long time."

Long Ao didn't dare tell his mother the truth, because he was afraid of hurting her.

According to Ao Tian, once Ao Xue was sent back to the Phoenix Race to awaken her true Phoenix Royal Family bloodline, all her memories would disappear, and she would forget everyone.

He was powerless to stop it.

A million feelings of reluctance tore at Long Ao's heart, but he had no choice. Ao Xue had already fallen into a coma eight times. If it happened a ninth time, not even a god descending from the heavens could save her life.

Mu Lin didn't press further. She knew that if Ao'Er wanted to say something, he would, even if she didn't ask.

"Ao'Er, don't try to force things."

"I understand, Mother."

The two of them fell silent. The next morning, Long Ao quietly departed, carrying Ao Xue's body in his arms.

On a Desolate Mountain far from the Long Family's home, Long Ao placed Ao Xue's body on the ground. Without the slightest hesitation, he took the so-called Phoenix Feather from his robes, lit it, and set it down beside her.

Once everything was done, Long Ao didn't even dare to look at Ao Xue. He was afraid that if he glanced at her one more time, he wouldn't be able to part with the reluctance in his heart.

Not long after Long Ao left, the Phoenix Feather finished burning. Just then, a terrifying power suddenly descended from the sky. Space itself was brutally torn open, and an old woman stepped out from the rift. She glanced around and saw no one else. When the old woman saw Ao Xue lying on the ground, her expression changed.

Without another word, the old woman picked up Ao Xue, turned, and left. The torn rift sealed itself shut again, as if nothing had ever happened.

Long Ao had witnessed the entire scene. He knew with absolute certainty that the old woman who had just appeared was an expert from the Phoenix Race. What surprised him, however, was how a master from the Phoenix Race could take on a human form.

'Ao Xue, one day, I will set foot in the Phoenix Race's territory and personally bring you back.'

Long Ao didn't dwell on his grief. No matter what, Ao Xue's life was saved. As for the future, he would definitely go to the Phoenix Race in person, and no one would be able to stop him.

When Long Ao returned to the Long Family, he seemed to have returned to normal. But it was precisely because of this that everyone grew more worried, thinking he must have suffered a severe emotional blow.

"Ao'Er, are you all right?"

Shaking his head, Long Ao smiled and said, "I'm fine. Ao Xue just had a small problem, and I will definitely get her back in the future. Now, Grandfather, I have something very important to tell you, but you must promise me that you won't tell anyone, no matter who it is."

Seeing his grandson's grave expression, Long Haoshi was quite surprised. He said, "Don't you know my character by now? Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

Long Ao hadn't originally planned to tell his grandfather, but things had changed. Because of this, he decided to tell his grandfather about their ancestor now.

"Grandfather, the inheritance you gave to Big Brother back then wasn't the true ancestor's inheritance."

"Impossible! Ao'Er, this is a matter of great importance. You can't just say things like that."

Hearing his grandson say such a thing, Long Haoshi was stunned. 'What kind of joke is this?' The inheritance of their ancestor, Long Batian, couldn't possibly be fake. The ancestor's inheritance had been passed down for generations. If it hadn't been for Ao'Er, Long Haoshi would never have brought it out in the first place.

"Grandfather, just listen to me."

Since things had reached this point, Long Ao told his grandfather everything about the ancestor, holding nothing back.

After hearing the whole story, Long Haoshi was too shocked to speak. He had never imagined that the family's ancestor, Long Batian, wasn't a so-called Great Emperor, but a true Divine Dao Martial Artist—one of the experts who stood at the Martial Arts Peak of Heaven and Earth.

"Ao'Er, I want to ask you for a favor."

"Let's go." Before his grandfather could even finish, Long Ao already knew what he wanted. He led Long Haoshi to the back mountain, released his aura, and began to sense the ancestor's Divine Dao Aura.

Sure enough.

In just a moment, Long Ao successfully sensed the ancestor's aura. Before Long Haoshi could even react, the two of them were enveloped by a Divine Dao Aura and vanished from the spot.

「Inside the cave.」

"Ao'Er, didn't I tell you not to mention my existence to anyone?"

Looking at the illusory figure before him, there was no need for Long Ao to say anything. Long Haoshi, of course, knew who the figure was. He immediately knelt, his voice filled with emotion as he said, "Unfilial descendant Long Haoshi pays his respects to the Ancestor."

"Rise."

As the true master of Long Ao Peak, Long Batian naturally knew who Long Haoshi was. Seeming somewhat displeased, he said resentfully, "The family was left in your hands, yet each generation is worse than the last. From a Third Level Long Family, you've become a Ninth Level Long Family. You've really made the clan's ancestors proud."

Long Haoshi didn't dare to stand up. Although he was the person of the highest seniority in the current Long Family, in front of Long Batian, Long Haoshi was merely a child. He didn't even have the courage to retort.

"The Ancestor's reprimand is justified. It is this unworthy descendant's fault for failing to properly develop the Long Family."

It was only now that Long Ao finally understood. His family wasn't originally some Ninth Level Long Family, but a true Third Level Long Family. It was just that after the ancestor had fallen, the family was suppressed, growing weaker with each generation, plummeting from a Third Level Long Family directly to a Ninth Level Long Family.

"Get up. You can't be entirely blamed for this. The Long Clan is too shameless. We were originally one family, yet they couldn't tolerate the development of a side branch. If this continues, the Long Clan will sooner or later be swallowed up by other powers."

Long Ao helped his grandfather, Long Haoshi, to his feet. In Long Ao's heart, his grandfather was certainly much closer to him than Long Batian. No matter what, Long Batian was just an ancestor—who knew how many generations removed.

Even now, Long Haoshi was still trembling with excitement. He had never, ever imagined that he would be able to meet the Ancestor—the number one expert in the family's legends, and one of the Divine Dao Martial Artists of this era. If he hadn't fallen, one could truly not imagine how prosperous the family would have become.