Chapter 4

At the same time, in a valley located at the junction of the southeastern Central Region and the Southern Wasteland.

An old man in coarse cloth and a stalwart youth stood there; beside them stood a horse with limbs white as snow and frost, a black mane, and a ring of pure white hair around its neck like a white scarf on a white horse. The two silently gazed down at the valley's exit.

Here they come.

Go, complete your metamorphosis!

As the sound of hooves rose, the old man in coarse cloth slowly spoke.

Hmm.

He silently nodded, the youth said nothing, leading the white horse toward the valley's exit.

As the hoofbeats drew nearer, Zhan Beiye, leading a few disheveled personal guards in retreat, gradually made out that figure at the valley's exit.

White robe, white armor, white horse, plus a spear and sword both pure snow‑white.

Lone rider, yet to Zhan Beiye it felt like facing an enemy nation's countless troops, unstoppable!

You came here to block me, you little rabbit bastard!

Feeling the aura of the lone rider opposite and his youthful face, Zhan Beiye fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned.

I have no grudge against the general, but—

The white‑armored lone rider slowly exited, but then suddenly stopped, reached into his bosom, took out a small white porcelain bottle, and threw it to Zhan Beiye.

We're all men of the battlefield; where does all this grudge come from!

If you want my life, come and take it!

Zhan Beiye reached out and caught the white porcelain bottle, without the slightest hesitation he pulled the stopper and poured its contents into his mouth, as natural as drinking the hot tea his wife had poured for him upon returning home.

Zhan Beiye did not ask whether there was any problem with it, just as Bai Hu likewise did not say what was inside.

Watching Zhan Beiye's wounds gradually heal, his aura also rose steadily to its peak.

But you're blocking the way!

No sooner had the words fallen than the white‑robed knight surged forward, arriving instantly before Zhan Beiye, thrusting his battle spear with his right hand and sweeping his battle blade with his left.

Ding! Bai Hu's skill Holy Spear activates, base martial power 110!

Ding! Zhan Beiye's skill Berserk God activates, base martial power 107!

The World's Storm and Cloud Rankings, also known as the General Rankings, were jointly launched by the prominent scholars of the Hundred Schools and the great martial world factions Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and Bai Xiaosheng; it records seventy‑two contemporary mighty generals and ranks them according to their martial power and exploits.

Heaven‑Mad War God‑Zhan Beiye ranks tenth on the World's Storm and Cloud Rankings, one of the twelve Heavenly Gods of the World, and is the Guardian General of the Great Xuan Dynasty that commands eight continents, spanning the Central Region, the Southern Wasteland, and the Eastern Lands.

At this moment, however, he lay fallen in such an obscure valley.

At the same time, a war god with a base martial power of 110—enough to stir up a great commotion across the world—was quietly born here as the pinnacle of war gods, a Heavenly God.

The Bai Hu who just threw the bottle to Zhan Beiye was given by his master, the Head of the School of Soldiers, the Hundred Herbs Creation Pill in advance; it is used to heal injuries at the final breakthrough, allowing him to ascend in the best condition.

But for Bai Hu, the opponent for his ascension to Heavenly God cannot be chosen.

Because it was chosen by his master for his own good, after much painstaking effort and countless schemes.

He will not refuse or put on a show, lest his so‑called arrogance or warrior's spirit cause his master's years of effort to fall short.

But throwing that bottle of Creation Pill is his answer to his master.

He will crush the peak Heaven‑Mad War God‑Zhan Beiye with absolute strength and forcefully ascend to Heavenly God!

He will not reject his master's kindness, but as a war god's proud bone, he likewise will not bully the weak or kick a wounded opponent while he's down.

This is also why Bai Hu's master, the Head of the School of Soldiers, went to such trouble to plot for him.

Otherwise, if Bai Hu were allowed to pick his own opponent, this hot‑headed youth would surely rush to challenge the number one, and who knows how long he'd have to wait to become a Heavenly God!

And at this moment, the author of all this, Bai Hu, stood alone, a powerful aura swirling around him, awe‑inspiring and unattainable; beams grew denser, bursting forth with immense light, condensing behind him into a divine martial aura white tiger.

Ding! Detected Bai Hu solo‑killing a Heavenly God, seizing its fortune, now advancing to Heavenly God.

Ding! Bai Hu's skill advancement succeeded, Holy Spear merged with the Spear God skill to become Bai Hu's exclusive Heavenly God technique—War God!

Heroic essence, solemn clear tones, awe over all beasts, roaring moves the mountains and forests!

This is the God of War and Arms—Bai Hu!

You should go, go find your heavenly‑mandated lord.

Watching the stunning Bai Hu on the field, the Head of the School of Soldiers' eyes held amazement, gratification, and a touch of sorrow.

Once that little dot has finally grown into one of the world's few mighty ones, and now must enter the world to seek his own resting place.

Master, where do you want me to go?

Bai Hu in the field tilted his head slightly.

Hahaha, if I, as your master, told you, would you listen?

The Head of the School of Soldiers slowly stroked his beard, smiling as he asked.

Bai Hu did not answer; he had already entered the world, and from now on there would be only one destination for him.

He respected this old man as his master, but on this point he would not heed the old man's other opinions.

Hmph, you ungrateful brat, go rest, go rest!

The old man in coarse cloth, seeing this, laughed and cursed, turned, flicked his sleeves, and his figure vanished before Bai Hu's eyes.

Bai Hu watched the direction his master had disappeared, fell silent for a moment, then slowly knelt and respectfully kowtowed nine times.

Afterward, he took hold of the white horse and headed east without looking back.

Cloud Prince's Mansion, inside Su Ye's courtyard.

What's going on, system? Why did Bai Hu suddenly start fighting someone? And what is this Heavenly God? Isn't a base martial power of 110 the strongest?

Su Ye, who had just finished summoning, was dazed by a sudden burst of system notifications, and asked the system in a daze.

Ding! Bai Hu, under the arrangement of his master, the Head of the School of Soldiers, is undergoing advancement to Heavenly God.

"This is the fate trajectory automatically derived by the military school's chief after the system implants an identity, based on the character's personality."

"Ding! The Heavenly God General is the military commander favored by fortune in this world; each Heavenly God General will fuse the divine skill born from their breakthrough to War God with one of their own skills, forming a unique Heavenly God Skill exclusive to them."

"Under the system's explanation, Su Ye gradually gained a preliminary understanding of the Heavenly God General."

"An ordinary divine general only needs one divine-level skill to advance to War God, and when that divine-level skill merges with one's exclusive skill, it can progress to a Heavenly God Skill."

"The Heavenly God Skill not only provides a greater power boost than ordinary skills, but also grants immunity to negative states such as myriad laws."

"Furthermore, a Heavenly God General possessing a Heavenly God Skill is stronger than an ordinary War God in influencing army morale, and will suppress the total combat value of enemy soldiers."

"Moreover, there is only one Heavenly God Skill, just like White Tiger's Heavenly God Skill—War God; before White Tiger dies, War God will not appear on anyone else."

"Furthermore, the Heavenly God position is also related to the elusive fortune; as a Heavenly God General, one encounters very few bottlenecks in cultivation, and power increases very quickly."

"Currently, there are only twelve Heavenly God General positions in the Central Plains, and only six among the four directions' foreign tribes!"

"As for White Tiger's opportunity to ascend to Heavenly God General, it came after the system implanted the identity of the military school's chief's closed-door disciple into White Tiger; the chief himself schemed in every way, calculating for White Tiger."

"The self-evolution belonging to the world's fate trajectory has nothing to do with the system."

"As the system prompt sounded, Su Ye's expression became somewhat subtle."

"What is this?"

"Buy a house, get a free car?"

"Not only did they obtain a ceiling War God with Base Martial 110, but they also gave away a Heavenly God General position for free!"

"(End of chapter)"